Washington— The White House is “seriously” contemplating an Iranian proposal to enter indirect nuclear negotiations instead of going to war with Tehran, according Axios’ citing two US officials.
Despite the massive American military buildup that is going on around Iran, there seems to be an intensive internal debate in the White House on whether to go along with the Iranian proposal and negotiate a deal or opt for war.
Over the weekend, the White House received Iran’s formal response to US President Donald Trump’s letter that he sent to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei three weeks ago.
However, there is a credible fear on the part of observers that the ongoing internal debate in the White House could be exploited by Israel’s PM Netanyahu’s unrelenting attempts to push Washington, blindly, into an endless war of choice and a quagmire in Iran. The result of which will only harm American interests in the Middle East
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters the response to President Trump’s letter “was sent in an appropriate manner and through the Sultanate of Oman”.
“This official response includes a letter explaining our views on the current situation and Mr. Trump’s message in full and conveying them to the other party,” he added.
According to Axios, the two US officials told the outlet “after the exchange of letters we are now exploring next steps in order to begin conversations and trust building with the Iranians”.
“A US official said Trump doesn’t want to go to war with Iran but needs the military assets to establish deterrence in the negotiations — and to be prepared to act if negotiations fail and things escalate quickly,” Axios said.