According to officials familiar with the matter, one day after hostilities began, personnel from Iran's intelligence ministry contacted the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through indirect channels, proposing to discuss terms for ending the conflict.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, indicated that U.S. officials are skeptical of the proposal—at least in the short term, neither the Trump administration nor Iran appears genuinely prepared to seek a ceasefire.
Nevertheless, the proposal, which was relayed via an intelligence agency of a third country, raises a critical question: given the targeted killings of senior Iranian figures by Israel and the ensuing governmental chaos, whether any Iranian official currently possesses the authority to implement a ceasefire agreement.
This proposal was disclosed to The New York Times by officials from a Middle Eastern country and a Western nation, all of whom requested anonymity.
The White House and Iranian officials have not responded to requests for comment. The CIA declined to comment.
Israel, which hopes the operation will continue for weeks to maximize the degradation of Iran's military capabilities and potentially even lead to the collapse of the Iranian government, has urged the U.S. to disregard this outreach. For now, Washington does not view the proposal as credible.
After expressing willingness for days to negotiate with Iran, former President Trump posted on social media on Tuesday morning that it was now "too late" for talks.
Later that day, Trump told reporters he regretted that Iranian officials, whom the U.S. knew and had once considered potential successors, were being killed one after another.
"Most of the people we liked are dead," Trump said. "Soon we won't know anyone."
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