Newsletters
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday held a series of calls with regional and U.S. counterparts as efforts to halt the Iran war show signs of strain, reports say.
Fidan spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and U.S. officials, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources noted, with discussions centering on the trajectory of the war and options to bring it to a stop.
Details of the talks were not disclosed, but the outreach comes as indirect contacts between Washington and Tehran continue to falter.
A fresh round of mediation led by regional actors, including Pakistan, has stalled, the Washington Post reported. Iran has told mediators it will not meet U.S. officials in Islamabad in the coming days, arguing that Washington’s demands remain unacceptable.
According to earlier reports partly acknowledged by the White House, the U.S. sent Iran a sweeping 15-point plan to end the war through intermediaries, requiring it to dismantle its nuclear program, halt enrichment, transfer uranium stockpiles, open sites to full IAEA access, curb missile activity and keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
Ankara and Cairo continue to push for a way forward, weighing potential hosts such as Doha and Istanbul while exploring new proposals to break the impasse, the report noted.
Tehran is seeking reparations, a U.S. withdrawal from Middle East bases and guarantees against further attacks, officials involved in the mediation told the newspaper.
Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported that Tehran left a short-term cease-fire proposal from Washington on April 2 unanswered, instead continuing its attacks as pressure mounted on U.S. forces across the region.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Friday that it had shot down a U.S. F-15E fighter jet, marking the first such incident since the start of the war.
U.S. media reported that one of the two pilots was rescued, while search and rescue operations continue for the other missing crew member, who may have been captured by Iranian forces, according to local reports.
The White House confirmed the incident, while U.S. President Donald Trump played down its impact. "No, not at all. No, it’s war. We’re in war," Trump said, brushing off suggestions it could alter negotiations.
He declined to discuss details of the ongoing search and rescue mission, calling it a sensitive military matter.
In a separate interview, Trump avoided outlining potential responses if the missing pilot is harmed. "We hope that’s not going to happen," he said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps also announced it had downed an A-10 ground attack aircraft around the same time. The New York Times reported the jet went down near the Strait of Hormuz and that the pilot was rescued.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
