Iran refuses negotiations under pressure, Trump: Sometimes you have to fight to the end

Iran has informed Qatar and Oman, the mediators in the Middle East negotiations, that it will not agree to ceasefire negotiations as long as the attacks against it by Israel continue. This was said by a source familiar with the situation. "The Iranians informed the Qatari and Omani mediators that they will only engage in serious negotiations after Iran has completed its response to Israel's preemptive strikes," the source said.

According to him, Iran has made it clear that "it will not negotiate while under attack." The source also noted that the information that Iran has turned to Oman and Qatar to convince the US to stop the attacks is not accurate.

US President Donald Trump said last night that he "hopes for a deal" between Israel and Iran, but added that "sometimes you have to fight to the end." Trump refused to say whether he had asked Israel to stop the attacks on Iran, but stressed that America will continue to support Israel in its defense.

When asked if he and Prime Minister Netanyahu had coordinated actions against Iran, Trump replied: "We get along very well - and I think we respect each other a lot."

Yesterday afternoon, Trump claimed that there will soon be peace between Israel and Iran, stating that "a lot of talks and meetings are going on right now." This post on his Truth Social profile was published minutes after the Iranian missile attack on Israel, while the Israeli Defense Forces continued their attacks in Iran, including in the capital Tehran.

"Iran and Israel must make a deal and they will make a deal, just like I got India and Pakistan to do, in this case using US trade to inject reason, unity and common sense into negotiations with two great leaders who were able to quickly make a decision and stop!" Trump wrote.

The US president claimed that he had also prevented war between Serbia and Kosovo, whose tensions escalated during Joe Biden's administration, and that the "peace" currently prevailing between Egypt and Ethiopia regarding the future of the Grand Dam is due to his intervention.

"Similarly, we will soon have peace between Israel and Iran!" Trump wrote, capitalizing the word "PEACE." He likely means a ceasefire, although in the past he has expressed a desire - which, however, does not appear realistic in the near future - for Iran to join the Abraham Accords.

Minutes after Trump's statement, a senior cabinet official said that there is actually no serious pressure on Israel to stop the attacks: "We still have many surprises and great determination. There are initial mediation efforts behind the scenes, but there is still no specific ceasefire proposal."