Khaberni - As President Donald Trump's deadline approached, U.S. and Israeli officials were informed of a striking development last Monday, when Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei directed his negotiators for the first time since the start of the war to pursue a deal.
Diplomatic Momentum Behind the Scenes
The website «Axios» reported today (Wednesday), quoting an Israeli official, a regional official, and a third source: While Trump was publicly threatening with «total annihilation,» there were signs of diplomatic momentum behind the scenes, even though «even those close to Trump did not know which direction things would go until the ceasefire was announced.»
The site noted that U.S. forces in the Middle East and Department of War officials «Pentagon» were preparing in the last hours before the ceasefire announcement for a «widespread bombing campaign on Iran's infrastructure, trying to ascertain Trump's stance.» A defense official said: «We did not know what would happen. The situation was chaotic.»
According to «Axios» which relied on 11 sources familiar with the negotiations, U.S. allies in the region «were preparing for an unprecedented Iranian response,» while «some civilians in Iran fled their homes in an attempt to avoid the impact of potential U.S. strikes.»
Witkov describes the Iranian proposal as «disastrous»
The site revealed that on Monday morning, while Trump was interacting with guests during an Easter celebration at the White House, envoy Steve Witkov, «very angry,» was making intensive calls, and Witkov informed the intermediaries that Iran's 10-point proposal received by Washington was «disastrous.»
This opinion launched a «chaotic day» of revisions, and Pakistani intermediaries exchanged new drafts between Witkov and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, while the foreign ministers of Egypt and Turkey tried to bridge the gaps.
By Monday evening, the intermediaries secured American approval for a revised ceasefire proposal lasting two weeks. Then, the decision was in the hands of Khamenei's son, who, according to two sources, «was directly involved in the process» on Monday and Tuesday.
According to the sources, Mujtaba's participation, mainly based on conveying messages through intermediaries carrying written memos, paved the way for the agreement, considering that «without his green light, there would have been no agreement.»
A regional source mentioned that Araqchi played a pivotal role, both in managing the negotiations and in convincing the leaders of the Revolutionary Guard to accept the agreement, and China advised Iran to seek a way out of the crisis.
Trump's threats to eradicate Iranian civilization
By Tuesday morning, progress seemed to have been made, but that did not prevent Trump from launching his most provocative threat: «An entire civilization will die tonight.»
Some American media outlets reported that Iran withdrew from the talks in response to this. However, sources involved in the negotiations confirmed that this was not the case; there was actual momentum.
By around 12:00 PM Eastern U.S. time on Tuesday, there was a general realization that the parties were nearing a two-week ceasefire, according to «Axios».
Three hours later, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif posted the terms of the agreement on the platform «X» and called on both sides to accept them. Shortly after, Trump received calls and text messages from allies and hardline advisers urging him to reject the agreement.
Just before posting his response, Trump spoke with Netanyahu to secure his commitment to the ceasefire. Then he made a call with the Pakistani army chief Asim Munir to finalize the agreement. The U.S. forces were ordered to stop preparations 15 minutes after Trump's post. This was followed by Araqchi confirming Iran's commitment to cease fire and open the Strait of Hormuz to ships.
