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‘We had no idea’: US officials claim to be ‘in the dark’ till Trump finalised Iran truce, says report
Hours before Trump's deadline, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei directed his negotiators to make efforts to move towards a deal.
The United States, Iran and Israel have agreed to a two-week ceasefire in a last-minute deal before the deadline given by US President Donald Trump, threatening to begin a bombing campaign which he said would destroy the Iranian civilisation.
However, US defence officials were in the dark until Trump made the decisive call regarding the truce with Tehran.
“We had no idea what was going to happen. It was wild,” Axios cited a defence official as saying. According to the Axios report, in the hours before the ceasefire was announced, US forces in the Middle East and officials in the Pentagon had been preparing for a massive bombing campaign on Iranian infrastructure. They were also trying to figure out which way Trump was leaning.
Also Read | Inside the 10 Iran demands that US ‘accepted’ to get the 2-week ceasefire
Following Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publishing the terms of a potential ceasefire on X and calling for both sides to accept, Trump immediately started getting a flurry of calls and text messages.
He was allegedly urged by hawkish allies and confidants to reject the deal. Owing to this, even those among his close aides who might have spoken to him an hour or two before the truce believed that he would not accept the ceasefire terms.
US allies in the region, who were also allegedly anticipating US strikes, were preparing for a large-scale Iranian retaliation. In Iran, civilians were fleeing their homes in order to avoid the strikes they thought were coming.
How did the backchannel diplomacy before the truce play out?
Hours before Trump's deadline, in a first since the conflict began, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei directed his negotiators to make efforts to move towards a deal, Axios cited an Israeli official, a regional official and a third source as saying.
Based on 11 sources with knowledge of the talks, Axios reported that the 10-point counterproposal from Iran was not well received by US' envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. Witkoff allegedly told the mediators that the deal was “a disaster, a catastrophe”, according to a source.
Following this, “chaotic” backchannel negotiations began, with Pakistani mediators passing on new drafts between Witkoff and Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. Apart from Islamabad, Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers were also involved in efforts to ensure a ceasefire. China also advised Tehran to seek a truce.
Following this, the mediators were given US approval for an updated proposal for a two-week ceasefire by Monday night. The proposal was then given the go-ahead by Khamenei, with Iranian foreign minister Araghchi also playing a central role in negotiations and pushing the Revolutionary Guards to accept the deal, Axios reported.
