Shafaq News- Washington/ Tehran
Qatar, Pakistan, and other regional mediators are working to ease tensions between the United States and Iran and revive negotiations between the two countries, Axios reported on Friday, while Israeli officials reportedly seek US approval to join American strikes on Iran.
Mediators believe Washington and Tehran had made progress during previous rounds of talks despite the recent escalation and are seeking to prevent the collapse of a memorandum of understanding reached between the two sides.
A regional source from one of the mediating countries told the outlet that intermediaries believe recent Iranian attacks near the Strait of Hormuz were carried out by elements within Iran “opposed to the memorandum and seeking to undermine it.”
Qatari, Pakistani, Turkish, Egyptian, and Saudi officials held multiple phone calls on Wednesday with US and Iranian counterparts to reduce tensions, the report said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Pakistan's Army Chief, Asim Munir, that recent US attacks and statements constituted a violation of the memorandum of understanding, according to a statement published on the Iranian foreign minister's Telegram channel.
Trump announced on Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding and ceasefire with Iran were no longer in effect before ordering two rounds of US airstrikes.
Axios also reported that Trump met senior national security officials yesterday to discuss the situation with Iran and the next steps for the agreement.
A US official told the outlet that the administration remains “committed to pursuing a diplomatic solution” and that technical talks aimed at reaching a nuclear agreement are “continuing.”
The official described Iran's attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz as "terrorism," adding that Tehran's recent actions represented an unacceptable breach of the memorandum's terms.
Separately, Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported that some Israeli officials want to join the US military campaign against Iran and are awaiting President Donald Trump's approval.
The broadcaster said Israeli officials expect exchanges between the United States and Iran to “continue over the coming days.”
The New York Post, citing an Israeli source, reported that Israel is interested in participating in future strikes. "We are ready to do it again if necessary," the source said. "Although Israel does not want to return to a situation where people are forced into bomb shelters, it also does not want to ignore what is happening in Iran."