Iran reportedly begins diplomatic outreach via Qatar, Oman & Cyprus to stop Israeli airstrikes

On the third day of Israel’s war against the Iranian ayatollah regime, dubbed “Operation Rising Lion,” first reports of diplomatic efforts have begun to surface as Israeli fighter jets continue pounding the Iranian capital, Tehran.

The regime reached out to Oman and Qatar to request mediation with the United States, an informed source told The Jerusalem Post, in an effort to halt Israel’s ongoing airstrikes and return to the negotiating table in the nuclear talks with the U.S.

The source added that Saudi Arabia is also working on a ceasefire framework that could lead to the resumption of talks.

In addition, the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, said on Sunday that Iran had asked his country to convey “some messages” to Israel, without revealing additional details.

However, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei later denied sending any message to Israel via Cyprus. 

“As long as the Zionist regime continues its attacks on the Iranian nation, participating in talks with its biggest supporter and partner (the United States) is meaningless,” Nasser Kanaani, another Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on Saturday.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the missile strikes would only end once Israel stopped its attacks.

“We are defending ourselves; our defense is entirely legitimate,” Araghchi said, adding that “this defense is our response to aggression. If the aggression stops, naturally our responses will also stop.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. continued to call on Iran to resume negotiations. “We could easily reach an agreement between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday morning.

Later on Sunday, Trump predicted that Israel and Iran would make a deal, mentioning similar deals he mediated between India and Pakistan, Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia.

“Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran,” he wrote, adding, “Many calls and meetings [are] now taking place.”

A senior Trump official told The Jerusalem Post that the U.S. is “committed to negotiations and [hopes] the Iranians will come to the table soon.”

However, two Israeli officials poured cold water on hopes that the war would end via diplomatic agreement any time soon, telling the Axios news outlet that there are no “serious” diplomatic initiatives to stop the war at the moment.

One official explained that Israel is currently not seeking an agreement since it is still busy reaching all its objectives, namely, to significantly damage Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missile array.

During an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Trump warned that “it’s possible we could get involved” in the war, though he emphasized that the United States is “not at this moment involved” in the conflict.

Several media reports in recent days suggested that Israel is striving to convince the U.S. to join the war, particularly to help destroy heavily fortified Iranian nuclear sites like Fordow with large bunker-buster bombs.

On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar thanked the U.S. for its support but stressed that any direct involvement would be for Washington to decide.

“They have their calculations, and they’ll decide…but it is not for us to decide what other nations will do in that context.”

An Israeli security source told Jewish Insider that Israel is determined to achieve its military objectives before mounting international pressure forces a ceasefire.

“We want the U.S. to understand our point of view,” the source said. “The goal is for Iran not to have capabilities that endanger the State of Israel and its existence.” 

“If we’re paying a maximal price” – 13 fatalities, 380 injured in 22 missile impact sites as of Sunday morning — “we should get maximal achievements. That is the approach,” he added, stressing that Israel wants to completely destroy Iran's nuclear program, not leave it “wounded.”