Iran reportedly offered nuclear proposal days before US-Israel strikes

Former U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that Iran had presented a proposal that could have contributed to resolving the nuclear issue just days before the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

Speaking on The Daily Show, Sullivan discussed the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran that began on Feb. 28 and have killed more than 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“Just a few days before we started bombing Iran, the Iranians put a proposal on the table in Geneva that went a long way towards resolving the nuclear issue,” Sullivan said, referring to nuclear negotiations that took place before the attacks.

Sullivan says US statements did not match mediation efforts

Sullivan said statements made by officials from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration regarding Iran’s proposals did not align with what Omani mediators conveyed about the negotiations.

In response to the attacks, Iran launched drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global economic markets and aviation.

Demonstrators hold a protest against the war on Iran next to Recruting Station in Times Square, New York City, United States, on Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AA Photo)

Warns collapse of Iran would impact global economy

Sullivan warned that the collapse of Iran would have major global consequences.

The collapse of Iran would mean the collapse of the global economy, he said, adding that if Iran continues to threaten the Strait of Hormuz, there could be a potential refugee flow toward Europe.

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“When it comes to Iran, what Israel would like to do under this particular government is just break Iran and cause chaos, because as far as they're concerned, a broken Iran is less of a threat to Israel,” he said, adding that the United States “cannot think about it that way.”

“I do believe that when it comes to this war in Iran, there is a real divergence between Israel's ultimate aims and the United States' ultimate aims,” he added.

Sullivan also mentioned the "devastation in Gaza, the killing of civilians, the harm, the suffering, the pain," and said the United States "didn't end it fast enough."

March 25, 2026 05:42 PM GMT+03:00