The Wall Street Journal reports:

Iran has been urgently signaling that it seeks an end to hostilities and resumption of talks over its nuclear programs, sending messages to Israel and the U.S. via Arab intermediaries, Middle Eastern and European officials said.

In the midst of a ferocious Israeli air campaign, Tehran has told Arab officials it would be open to returning to the negotiating table as long as the U.S. doesn’t join the attack, the officials said. Iran also passed messages to Israel saying it is in the interest of both sides to keep the violence contained.

But with Israeli warplanes able to fly freely over the capital and Iranian counterattacks inflicting minimal damage, Israeli leaders have little incentive to halt their assault before doing more to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites and further weaken the theocratic government’s hold on power.

Israeli strikes have killed key military leaders, including much of the top echelon of Iran’s air force, leaving Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei increasingly isolated. But the impact on nuclear facilities has been modest and analysts say it could take a long air war to get the results Israel wants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the attacks will continue until Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missiles are destroyed, and he has shown no indication he is ready to stop. He has also said regime change isn’t a goal but could be a result given the Iranian leadership’s weakness.

Israeli officials have said the military has prepared at least two weeks of strikes. On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron told his Iranian counterpart “to return swiftly to the negotiating table to reach an agreement,” and Arab leaders have called for an end to the fighting. President Trump resisted a military campaign for much of the year but has since cheered on Israel’s attacks.

“I think it’s time for a deal, and we’ll see what happens, but sometimes they have to fight it out,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.

Securing a pause could give Iran breathing room to regroup and for pressure to build internationally against Israel’s campaign. It would also be a win for Tehran to keep the U.S. from bringing its bunker-busting military capabilities into the fight.

Tehran appears to be betting that Israel can’t afford to get stuck in a war of attrition and would have to seek a diplomatic solution eventually, Arab diplomats who have spoken with the Iranians said. Iranian officials said they thought Israel lacked a clear exit strategy and would need U.S. help to do meaningful damage to targets such as the Fordow uranium-enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain.

“The Iranians know the U.S. is supporting Israel in its defense, and they are sure the U.S. is supporting Israel logistically,” an Arab official said. “But they want guarantees the U.S. won’t join the attacks.”

Iran has told Arab officials it could accelerate its nuclear program and expand the scope of the war if there are no prospects of resuming talks with the U.S. [Continue reading…]

Reuters reports:

Tehran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press U.S. President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire with Iran in return for Iranian flexibility in nuclear negotiations, two Iranian and three regional sources told Reuters on Monday.

Gulf leaders and their top diplomats worked the phones all weekend, speaking to each other, to Tehran, Washington and beyond in an effort to prevent a widening of the biggest ever confrontation between longstanding enemies Israel and Iran.

Iran is willing to be flexible in the nuclear talks if a ceasefire is reached, one of the Iranian sources said.

The Gulf states are deeply concerned the conflict will spin out of control, a Gulf source close to government officials told Reuters.

Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia have all appealed to Washington to press Israel to agree to a ceasefire and to resume talks with Tehran towards a nuclear deal, the Gulf source said.

A regional source and an official briefed on Iran’s communications with the Gulf said Tehran had reached out to Qatar and Oman to mediate a return to nuclear talks, but insisted that a ceasefire with Israel be put in place first. [Continue reading…]