CNN
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Hours after Iran launched a missile attack at a US base in Qatar, President Donald Trump and his group of top diplomats and security officials worked furiously behind the scenes trying to mediate a peace deal to end the Iran-Israel conflict.
Trump contacted Israeli Vice President JD Vance through direct and indirect channels with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Marco Rubio, and Middle Eastern envoy group Steve Witkov, a senior White House official said.
The Qatar government played an important role as an intermediary, and Trump spoke directly to its leader, Emil Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani at one point.
About 48 hours after the US hit Iran’s nuclear site, and just hours after Iran returned to US bases, Trump announced on his true social platform that the deal had been struck, announcing a “complete and complete ceasefire” between the fighting nations “leading the official end of the 12-day war.”
However, in the US, it remained unclear whether a fragile balance would be maintained in the Middle East on Monday night – early Tuesday morning.
Israel has agreed to a ceasefire agreement on the condition that Iran halts the attack, White House officials said. Iran has agreed to those terms, they added.
Trump told Qatar Emil that the US could agree to Israel to a ceasefire with Iran, two sources familiar with the issue said. He also thanked the broker for his help, White House officials said, and asked Emil to help persuade Iranians to accept the contract.
Vance was coordinated with Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jasim al Thani, a source said. After speaking with Al-Thani, the Iranians agreed to the ceasefire proposal, said the negotiated diplomats and diplomats. US officials said a series of calls with Qatar Emil was crucial on Iranian side.
Amidst the promising signs, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut thanked his country’s troops and said that the military operation against Israel “continued until the very end,” suggesting that the enemy may have ended.
“The powerful military operation to punish punish Israel for attacking Israel lasted until the very end until 4am,” he said in a post in X.
Previously, Aragut said that if Israel ceased strikes against Iran by then, Iran would halt its military response.
Israel has not yet publicly commented whether it agreed to a ceasefire.
The White House claims the deal is possible only because of the US strike at three Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday.
Earlier on Monday, Doha notified the US of an Iranian attack aimed at a US military base in Qatar that was successfully intercepted without reporting injuries or deaths. Two sources familiar with the issue said Iranian officials had given advance notice of the retaliatory attack.
Diplomatic sources told CNN they hope that Iran’s retaliatory strike will serve as an off-ramp for Tehran to return to negotiations. The ceasefire could create further space for discussion to continue between the US and Iran.
After Israel launched a military operation against Iran, there was an intensive diplomatic effort by US officials and intermediaries to bring Tearan back to the table to negotiate a new nuclear deal.
There was a message exchanged between the two sides last week, through numerous interlocutors, in an attempt to revive high-level debate. Also, local sources confirmed that active efforts were underway to help Trump and the Iranian president meet in Turkey last week, but that didn’t happen.
An consistent response from Iran was that it could lead to consultations being hired, but that would only be the case if Israel halted its military operations, sources said. Even after the US attacks, Iranian foreign ministers have informed some interlocutors of their willingness to return to the table if Israel ceased military attacks on Iran.
On Saturday, ahead of the unprecedented strike at three Iranian nuclear sites, the Trump administration sent a message to Iran through intermediaries. They had two messages. Although included in the upcoming US strike, he also said that the US terms of diplomatic dealings with Iran were clear and simple.
Iran has repeatedly said it has the right to enrich uranium.
According to a source familiar with the secret meeting held on Saturday, the middleman repeatedly reiterated the Iranians, saying the White House was willing to come to the table with no conditions other than enrichment. That only state from the US stripped both sides of many other points discussed in multiple nuclear talks.
Witkoff continues to exchange messages with Iranians in the aftermath of its US military operations. A source who is a senior White House official and is well-versed in the issue told CNN.
On Sunday, Rubio repeatedly sent public messages about his desire to directly negotiate with Iran. He noted that there were still deals on the table that allowed Tehran to create a citizen nuclear program without enrichment of its own.
“If they call now and say we want to meet, let’s talk about this, we’re ready to do it,” a top US diplomat told CBS, “Face the people.”
This story has been updated with additional details.