Israeli officials said the country will persist with strikes against Iran even as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed talks are underway to end the conflict, further unsettling energy and financial markets.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the campaign, now in its 25th day, would continue “at full intensity,” while Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Trump’s comments should be taken “slowly.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked close confidant Ron Dermer to monitor any U.S.-Iranian negotiations to make sure the country’s interests are upheld, an Israeli official said.
“We are still at war, period,” Cohen said in an interview with Kan radio on Tuesday.
Iran fired missiles and drones at the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, Eilat and Dimona in response to an ongoing Israeli bombardment, as well as on U.S. bases in the Middle East. Brent crude traded back above $100 a barrel on concern the war could yet escalate, exacerbating a global supply crunch.
Iran stopped natural gas exports to Turkey following Israel’s strike on the giant South Pars gas field last week, according to people familiar with the matter, underlining the risk to energy distribution. Stocks and bonds fell on Tuesday as hopes of an imminent resolution to the conflict faded.
Israel’s pledge to maintain attacks came after Trump postponed an assault on Iran’s energy infrastructure, citing “productive conversations” with Tehran. The U.S. president’s claims of behind-the-scenes diplomacy were widely denied by Iranian officials, causing confusion over the participants in the talks and the likelihood of a potential deal.
U.S. allies including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have hardened their stances against Tehran due to consistent bombardment of their territories.
Saudi Arabia told the U.S. it’s ready to strike Iran if its own power and water plants were targeted by the Islamic Republic, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said last week the kingdom’s restraint isn’t “unlimited.”
Trump told reporters Monday that special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held discussions a day earlier with a “top person” in Iran, and said the country wants to “make a deal.” Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei wasn’t involved in the talks, he added.
Axios reported it was Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, though the Iranian parliament speaker denied negotiations took place.
“Iran has one more opportunity to end its threats to America and their allies, and we hope they take it,” Trump said. “It could very well end up being a very good deal for everybody.”
Tehran received U.S. requests through mediators for talks to end the war, the state-run IRNA cited foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei as saying. “Necessary warnings were given about the severe consequences of any aggression against Iran’s critical infrastructure,” Baghaei said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has in recent days held calls with counterparts in Turkey, Oman, Pakistan, Egypt, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and South Korea.
The deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament ruled out negotiations with Trump. Fars quoted Ali Nikzad as saying Iran would not negotiate “with someone who is a liar and in whom there is no sign of honor, humanity, or conscience.”
Iran appointed a hardline veteran of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as the country’s top national-security leader, replacing Ali Larijani, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last week. Mohammad-Bagher Zolghadr is a military man with little diplomatic experience.
Pakistan is making a push to mediate an end to the war, and Trump has spoken with Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir about the conflict, people familiar with the matter said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a social media post on Tuesday that Pakistan would be “honoured” to mediate the talks.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he’s also discussed the Iran war with Trump, including the conflict’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for India’s energy imports.
Countries including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Oman have engaged in back-channel talks with Iran to contain the war and seek a ceasefire.
The early indications suggest potentially arduous negotiations, with no guarantee the sides will be able to clinch a deal that ends the war. Iran has previously insisted on reparations and pledges from the U.S. and Israel that they don’t attack in future — demands Trump and Netanyahu are unlikely to accept.
Trump’s decision to push for indirect talks with Iran came after some allies cautioned that the war was quickly becoming a disaster, according to people familiar with the matter.
Regional partners told the U.S. that permanent damage to Iranian infrastructure would almost inevitably result in a failed state after the conflict ended, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.
The conflict has claimed more than 4,350 lives. About three quarters of those have been in Iran, while over 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, has all but stopped. Only a few tankers have passed through since the conflict began, often after engagement with Iran.
Iran has started charging commercial vessels transit fees for passing through the strait, another sign of Tehran’s control over the world’s most important maritime energy channel.
The U.S. and Israel have said they want to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The U.S. would take Iran’s uranium stockpile and the two sides are already aligned on the terms, Trump claimed.
Iran has long denied pursuing atomic arms, though it has restricted United Nations inspectors’ access into the country since an earlier round of Israel and U.S. strikes last June.
Trump suggested the U.S. and Iran could jointly control the Strait of Hormuz, which may reopen soon “if it works.”
Meanwhile, he ordered Marines to head to the region, including the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit from Japan with more than 2,000 troops.
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—With assistance from Dan Williams and Michelle Jamrisko.
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