Israel-Iran struggle reaches week people
Diplomacy volition person a "last shot" wrong the adjacent 2 weeks to bring the Israel-Iran conflict to an end, according to 1 American and 1 European diplomatic official, a model acceptable by President Trump this week arsenic helium decides whether to impact the U.S. successful Israel's violative against Iran.
Those efforts were underway Friday arsenic Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with European overseas ministers successful Geneva successful the look of Israel's ongoing bombing run and the U.S. subject buildup successful the region.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and the apical European Union diplomat, Kaja Kallas, attended the Geneva gathering with Aragchi. Lammy had met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff astatine the White House Thursday.
The Geneva gathering lasted astir 4 hours — doubly arsenic agelong arsenic scheduled — and afterward, Barrot indicated determination would beryllium further talks and told reporters "the occupation of Iran's atomic programme cannot beryllium solved by subject means" alone. Lammy said, "We were clear: Iran cannot person a atomic weapon."
Araghchi, too, spoke aft the gathering and said Iran supported continuing discussions.
"Iran is acceptable to see diplomacy erstwhile again," helium said, adding, "I accent that Iran's defence capabilities are not negotiable. (But) I explicit our readiness to conscionable again successful the adjacent future."
Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei remains the eventual decision-maker, and it's not yet wide whether the ongoing Israeli airstrikes and impending menace of U.S. engagement volition determination him immoderate person toward a diplomatic disconnected ramp than erstwhile Witkoff past offered a connection a fewer weeks ago. The U.S. offer, which is inactive connected the table, would person allowed Iran to person a civilian atomic programme if it agreed not to enrich uranium connected its soil. Instead, Iran would beryllium capable to acquisition enriched substance from different countries. One proposition progressive an Omani thought to found a determination consortium that would let enrichment for civilian purposes nether monitoring by the IAEA and U.S.
Khamenei, 86, is thought to inactive beryllium battling crab and is successful hiding from the Israeli strikes. He has not responded to overtures from aggregate countries seeking to assistance de-escalate the conflict.
It's not wholly wide however functional the Iranian authorities is astatine this moment. Internet connectivity and planetary calls into Iran are hard to complete, according to sources successful the region. Cyber attacks person paralyzed the banking system, and arsenic of Thursday, aggregate diplomats acknowledged factors similar these person made it much hard to put in-person talks with Aragchi.
The ongoing Israeli battle whitethorn besides marque Khamenei fearful astir communicating, fixed concerns astir avoiding signals quality intercepts that could beryllium utilized to target him, 1 diplomatic root suggested.
Anything Aragchi discusses with the West volition yet request the ultimate leader's approval, and U.S. expectations for a breakthrough during this gathering are low. But it's a start.
It remains to beryllium seen if the speech successful Geneva produced immoderate denotation of whether Iran is inactive unfastened to nonstop talks with the U.S. — not conscionable the European nations — which is what Witkoff has besides been trying to initiate done his ain idiosyncratic outreach, 1 U.S. authoritative said.
Turkey and Oman, arsenic good arsenic European countries including Italy and Norway, person offered to big nonstop oregon indirect talks betwixt the U.S. and Iran, if Tehran were to take that path, according to 2 European diplomatic sources. The Italian overseas curate said Rubio told him Thursday that the U.S. is acceptable for nonstop negotiations with Iranian counterparts, and a French diplomat besides said Rubio had besides conveyed the aforesaid connection to Barrot. The French overseas curate and caput of authorities are expected to talk again aft the Geneva consultations.
Mr. Trump has expressed vexation successful caller weeks that though Iran has travel to the negotiating table, its leaders person shown nary willingness to really negotiate. Iran offered nary effect for 2 weeks to Witkoff's astir caller U.S. connection and neither declined nor accepted its terms, a U.S. authoritative acquainted with the efforts told CBS News. Instead, Iranian leaders issued property statements, but negotiators did not straight prosecute connected the specifics oregon sermon the presumption of the offer. That deficiency of substantive engagement raised doubts from the Trump medication astir whether Iran was engaging successful good-faith negotiations oregon simply moving retired the clock.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly questioned whether Iran's leaders were playing with Mr. Trump and utilized that uncertainty to warrant his unilateral determination to motorboat subject strikes. Multiple U.S. and overseas diplomats indicated that Mr. Trump did not bless the strikes oregon explicitly archer Netanyahu helium should proceed with them. Diplomatic sources admit that Iran's leaders whitethorn besides beryllium wondering astir the grade of coordination betwixt the U.S. and Israel and whitethorn besides beryllium uncertain astir whether the U.S.-initiated diplomacy was a ruse to warrant the usage of subject unit that Netanyahu has agelong advocated.
But 1 U.S. authoritative maintained that Mr. Trump's involvement successful diplomacy was genuine, arsenic is his aversion to drafting the U.S. subject into a Mideast warfare — particularly without a wide consciousness of what would travel next, should the Iranian authorities collapse.
U.S. and European diplomats confirmed that determination are confidential conversations astir who would pb Iran next, whether the atomic sites and worldly tin beryllium secured, and the imaginable biology and wellness fallout for determination allies from subject strikes connected atomic facilities.
In the meantime, the president inactive has the enactment of choosing to usage subject unit including the imaginable of utilizing for the archetypal clip successful past the MOP oregon massive ordnance penetrator, a 30,000-pound bunker-buster bomb, to destruct the underground atomic facilities astatine Fordo.
In theory, Mr. Trump maintains the quality to motorboat a onslaught portion he's retired of municipality astatine his play edifice successful Bedminster, New Jersey, connected Friday and Saturday, sources said. A unafraid suite is acceptable up earlier helium arrives astatine immoderate out-of-town location, and helium besides has entree to unafraid communications that would let him to springiness an bid portion en route. While astatine his Florida play resort, Mar-a-Lago, helium ordered a onslaught connected Syria successful 2017, and connected an Iranian wide successful 2020.
In the meantime, the U.S. quality appraisal remains that Khamenei has not ordered the resumption of the atomic weapons programme that Iran suspended successful 2003. But Iran has accumulated a quantity of enriched atomic substance that could perchance beryllium matched with an precocious rocket oregon a much rudimentary limb successful abbreviated bid if the ultimate person ordered it. It remains an unfastened question whether bombing Fordo would trigger Iran's leaders to sprint toward creating a weaponry oregon extremity the programme altogether.
Elizabeth Palmer and Sara Cook contributed to this report.
Margaret Brennan is moderator of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected CBS. Based successful Washington, D.C., Brennan is besides the Network's main overseas affairs analogous and a contributing analogous to 60 Minutes. Additionally, she appears regularly connected the "CBS Evening News," starring sum from Washington erstwhile quality breaks connected the governmental and overseas affairs fronts.
English (US) ·