US media reported that Trump once conspired with Turkey for the failure of high-level US-Iranian meetings.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, secretly planned a high-level meeting between the US and Iran this week in an attempt to resolve the conflict with Iran and reach a new nuclear agreement. However, due to Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khamenei being "unreachable," the effort ultimately failed without results.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, secretly planned to arrange a high-level meeting between US and Iranian officials in Istanbul while Israeli-Iranian hostilities were escalating. They aimed to open a diplomatic breakthrough and avoid deeper US involvement in the conflict. However, this effort ultimately failed because Iran's Supreme Leader could not be contacted and did not approve the talks.
According to three US officials and a direct source familiar with the matter who spoke to Axios, Trump even stated that if necessary, he would personally fly to Turkey to meet with Iranian President Peyvandzian or send Vice President Vance and White House envoy Whitaker to represent the US side, in order to avoid using force to reach a new agreement.
However, as diplomatic channels became blocked, senior members of the White House increasingly believed that the US might not be able to resolve the crisis solely through negotiations. On Friday, Trump clearly stated that he would decide within "two weeks" whether to join Israel in a military action against Iran. In response to the press, he said, "I will give them some time to see if anyone will return to their senses. Two weeks is my deadline."
According to the White House's published schedule, Trump will convene the National Security Team at the White House Situation Room on Saturday evening to discuss the latest developments in the Israeli-Iranian war. The conflict has now entered its ninth day, with both sides continuing to escalate hostilities.
The report indicated that Trump received a call from Erdogan during the G7 summit in Canada on Monday. The Turkish side proposed holding a high-level meeting between US and Iranian officials the next day in Istanbul. Trump quickly agreed and authorized Vice President Vance and envoy Whitaker to attend, and he himself was willing to meet with Peyvandzian if necessary.
US officials pointed out that several hours before receiving Erdogan's call, Trump had received an "encouraging message" from Iran through other informal channels, indicating a willingness to engage with the US. Although discussions about whether Trump himself would participate had already begun, the plan mainly focused on Vance and Whitaker attending the meeting.
Turkish President Erdogan and Foreign Minister Cavusoglu conveyed the US proposal to Iranian President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian. Both sides then attempted to contact Supreme Leader Khamenei to obtain approval for the meeting. However, due to Khamenei's recent concerns about possible assassination by Israel, he was in a "hidden state" and could not respond within hours.
Ultimately, Iran informed Turkey that they could not obtain the approval of the Supreme Leader, and the meeting was canceled. Turkey then relayed this result to the US.
After this news broke, Trump issued a statement via Truth Social strongly criticizing Iran's leadership. He wrote, "Iran should have signed the 'agreement' I proposed. What a pity, wasting countless lives. To put it simply, Iran must never have nuclear weapons. I have emphasized this repeatedly! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!"
The New York Times reported on Saturday morning that six B-2 stealth strategic bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. According to flight tracking data, these aircraft were flying westward, possibly heading to an airbase in Guam, USA.
B-2 bombers can carry up to 30,000 pounds of "bunker-buster" bombs, which are one of the main weapons used by the US military to strike Iran's Fordow nuclear facility. Although the movement of aircraft does not mean that an attack order has been issued, experts pointed out that this move by the US military may be to pressure Iran to return to the negotiating table.
The Ministry of Defense refused to comment on this, stating that related questions should be answered by the White House.
International efforts to call for a ceasefire and diplomatic solutions have yet to show significant results. Iranian Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian reiterated on Saturday, "Negotiations cannot take place unless aggression stops." Recent talks between Iran and several European countries also ended fruitlessly.
On Saturday, Erdogan met again with Amirabdollahian, urging Iran to initiate direct dialogue with the US as soon as possible and expressed that Turkey is always ready to assist in arranging the talks.
All parties in the region are highly concerned about Trump's final decision to deploy US troops to attack Fordow. This decision is likely to trigger an escalation of conflicts and will have far-reaching impacts on the Middle East situation.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1835591776620572/
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