"Reuters": Washington and Tehran exchange phone initiatives to contain the crisis.. Nuclear issue on the negotiation table

Diplomatic sources revealed to "Reuters" a series of phone calls that took place this week between Steve Whitecuff, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, and Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister, in an attempt to contain the military escalation between Israel and Iran that erupted last Friday.

The agency quoted three diplomats as saying that the talks focused on finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis, with Araghchi stating that "his country will not return to negotiations if Israeli attacks on Iran do not stop."

The discussions touched on a proposal presented by Washington to Tehran late last month, which includes forming a regional alliance for uranium enrichment outside Iran, an offer that Iran still rejects to this day. A diplomat close to Tehran also indicated that Araghchi conveyed to Whitecuff that Iran "could show flexibility on the nuclear issue" if the United States pressured Israel to stop the war.

In turn, a European diplomat quoted Araghchi as saying during the talks: "Iran is ready to return to nuclear negotiations, but it cannot do so if Israel continues its attacks."

According to a third diplomat from the region, the recent contact "was initiated by Washington," which presented a new proposal to break the deadlock on the nuclear file and the red lines disputed between the two countries.

This comes as the sixth round of nuclear negotiations was scheduled to be held in Muscat last Sunday, but the Israeli attack on Iran led to the cancellation of the round, turning the file into an ongoing military confrontation until now.