New Iran peace proposal triggers tense Trump-Netanyahu call

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a new effort to reach a deal with Iran in a difficult call on Tuesday, three sources said, with one source saying Netanyahu’s “hair was on fire” after the call.

Why it matters: A revised peace memo was drafted by Qatar and Pakistan with input from the other regional mediators to try to bridge the gaps between the U.S. and Iran, the sources said. It comes with Trump vacillating over ordering a massive strike on Iran and holding out for a deal.

• Netanyahu is highly skeptical about the negotiations and wants to resume the war to further degrade Iran’s military capabilities and weaken the regime by destroying its critical infrastructure.

Trump continues to say he thinks a deal can be reached but that he’s ready to resume the war if it isn’t.

• “The only question is do we go and finish it up or are they gonna be signing a document. Let’s see what happens,” he said on Wednesday at the Coast Guard Academy. Later on Wednesday, he said the U.S. and Iran were “right on the borderline” between getting a deal and resuming the war.
• Trump also said Netanyahu “will do whatever I want him to do” on Iran, though he also said they had a good relationship. The two leaders have had temporary disagreements on Iran before but have remained closely coordinated throughout the war.
• Iran has confirmed it’s reviewing an updated proposal, but it has not yet shown any signs of flexibility.

Zoom in: Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt have been working over the last several days to refine the proposal to bridge the gaps, the three sources say.

• According to two Arab officials and an Israeli source, Qatar recently presented the U.S. and Iran with a new draft. A fourth source said there is no separate Qatari draft, but that Qatar is just trying to bridge the gaps from the previous Pakistani proposal.
• One Arab official said the Qataris sent a delegation to Tehran earlier this week for talks with the Iranians about the latest draft.
• Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that negotiations were ongoing “based on Iran’s 14-point proposal” and that Pakistan’s interior minister was in Tehran to help the mediation. That’s the second visit by the interior minister in less than a week.

The goal of the new effort is to get more tangible commitments from the Iranians over steps regarding their nuclear program, and more specifics from the U.S. as to how frozen Iranian funds will be gradually released, an Arab official said.

• All three sources stressed it’s unclear whether the Iranians will agree to the new draft or shift their positions significantly.
• “As stated previously, Qatar has been and continues to support the Pakistani-led mediation efforts, we have been consistently advocating for de-escalation for the sake of the region and its people,” a Qatari diplomat said.

Behind the scenes: On Tuesday evening, Trump held a lengthy and “difficult” call with Netanyahu.

• Trump told Netanyahu that the mediators were working on a “letter of intent” that both the U.S. and Iran would sign to formally end the war and launch a 30-day period of negotiations on issues like Iran’s nuclear program and opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. source briefed on the call said.
• Two Israeli sources said the two leaders were in disagreement about the way forward, while the U.S. source briefed on the call said “Bibi’s hair was on fire after the call.”
• The source said Israel’s ambassador to Washington had informed U.S. lawmakers that Netanyahu was concerned about the call. An embassy spokesperson denied that characterization and said “the ambassador does not comment on private conversations.”
• Two sources noted that Netanyahu has been highly worried at previous stages of the negotiations, even as deals failed to materialize. “Bibi is always concerned,” one source said.

What they’re saying: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that in order for talks to succeed, the U.S. would have to end its “piracy” against Iranian ships and agree to release frozen funds, while Israel would have to end its war in Lebanon.

• Trump said the war could resume “very quickly” if “we don’t get the right answer,” but he was willing to give the talks a few more days. “If I can save people from getting killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it is a great thing to do.”
• The White House and Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office both declined to comment for this story.

What to watch: An Israeli source said Netanyahu wants to come to Washington in the coming weeks for a meeting with Trump.

المصدر: Axios