According to a report that is making the rounds, US President Trump and Turkish President Erdogan, through backdoor diplomacy, made attempts to facilitate a high-level meeting between US and Iranian officials in Istanbul before America bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
The backchannel plan began with a phone call from Erdogan to Trump when the US President was in Canada for the G7 summit. Erdogan proposed hosting the meeting in Istanbul the very next day. Trump agreed and offered to send Vice President JD Vance and Steve Witkoff, the White House envoy, even saying he would attend himself if needed, to help strike a deal.
The aim of pushing this meeting was to diffuse tensions in the Middle East through diplomacy.
However, as per a report published in Axios, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei couldn’t be reached for approval for the meeting as he was reportedly hiding due to fears of assassination by Israel. “Iran should have signed the deal. I told them to sign.
What a shame, and a waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran,” Trump later posted on Truth Social.
After two days Pentagon confirmed a major US airstrike targeting Iran’s Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites. Codenamed ‘Operation Midnight Hammer” involved 125 aircraft, including seven B-2 stealth bombers.
