World
Trump and Erdogan tried to arrange a meeting between senior US and Iranian officials: Axios
US and Turkish Presidents Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan tried behind the scenes in Istanbul this week to arrange a meeting of senior US and Iranian officials amid the escalation of the war between Israel and Iran, Axios reports, citing its sources.
The newspaper notes that the efforts of Trump and Erdogan failed when it was not possible to contact Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is in hiding for fear of his possible assassination. The latter did not respond to this initiative.
New details of this secret effort reveal the extent to which Trump was pressuring the Iranians to meet directly, even offering to attend himself if necessary, in the hope of concluding a nuclear deal and avoiding US military intervention. In the days that followed, Trump and senior White House officials became less confident that a diplomatic solution was possible and more convinced that the United States would have to join the war to dismantle Iran's nuclear program, Axios wrote, citing US officials.
