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Iran Asks Gulf States to Mediate for Ceasefire With Israel, Sources Say
The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman to press US 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.
Iran made clear to Oman and Qatar that it would not negotiate while it is under attack and will only begin serious negotiations once it has finished responding to Israeli strikes, the official said.
Iran‘s foreign ministry was not immediately available to respond to Reuters’ request for comment. Qatar’s foreign ministry, Oman’s ministry of information, Saudi Arabia’s international media office, the White House, and the US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
When asked if a diplomatic mechanism was being worked out to end the campaign, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told Army Radio on Monday: “It is a little early for that. You don’t go to war and look to end it three days later.”
Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on Friday morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran‘s military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will continue to escalate with the stated goal of eliminating Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon.
Iran insists its nuclear program is civilian, not military.
PUSH TO RESUME TALKS
Mediator Oman is drafting a ceasefire proposal designed to restart talks between the US and Iran on Iran‘s nuclear program, another regional source said.
A sixth round of US-Iran that had been planned in Muscat last Sunday was cancelled a day after Israel‘s surprise attacks on Friday.
The Omani draft calls on the US to accept Iran‘s suspension of all nuclear enrichment for a minimum of one to three years while allowing firm inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the regional sources told Reuters.
The proposed deal would aim to build trust so Iran could enrich uranium up to a purity of 3.67 percent and allow an international uranium consortium to take part in Iran‘s program.
That proposal overlaps with what one of the Iranian sources said Tehran could accept if Israel agreed to an immediate ceasefire: a one-year suspension of nuclear enrichment, full access to IAEA inspectors and confidence-building measures.
In return, the Iranian source said Iran expects the US to recognize its right to a peaceful nuclear program and to lift sanctions.
The two Iranian sources said that Tehran had also asked Turkey to appeal to Trump and that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to speak both to Trump and to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is unclear if Russia would play a broader diplomatic role.
The Turkish president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran has vowed to “open the gates of hell” in retaliation for Israeli attacks, but the two Iranian sources said that Tehran had also signaled its willingness to halt its strikes if Israel stopped attacking.
Tehran is serious about pursuing a ceasefire because of fears the war could spread across the region with consequences that could last for decades, one of the Iranian sources said.
The post Iran Asks Gulf States to Mediate for Ceasefire With Israel, Sources Say first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.