John Kiriakou described a Trump administration effort to quietly negotiate a ceasefire with Iran that was rejected, and Israeli concern over the attempt.
Kiriakou said Trump reached out behind the scenes twice within a ten-day period seeking a ceasefire with the Iranians, but the Iranians “played some kind” of response and said no. He said Benjamin Netanyahu did not like the outreach and called the White House to check whether the reports of it were true, prompting Kiriakou to ask rhetorically who was actually running foreign policy — the president of the United States, or Netanyahu.[1]
Kiriakou answered his own question directly: on foreign policy, he said, “Benjamin Netanyahu has just as much authority as whoever happens to be president of the United States. We’ve conceded foreign policy to the Israelis and to Israeli interests.”[2]
Asked about separate reporting that Trump had called Vladimir Putin to ask for his help on a ceasefire, Kiriakou said he had not heard that but “wouldn’t be surprised.”[3]
Indirect talks in Muscat and Rome
In a separate interview, Kiriakou describes the diplomatic channel in more detail: U.S.–Iran talks were held indirectly in Muscat, Oman, with the Omani foreign minister shuttling between separate conference rooms for the Iranian and American delegations. The first round produced a joint photograph — “a very important step” — and a second round was held a week later in Rome, also indirectly, with technical-level talks continuing indirectly in Muscat.[4] Kiriakou says he pays closer attention to statements from the Iranian foreign ministry than from the U.S. State Department, because he finds the Iranians more direct — and, as of that telling, the statements coming out of the Iranian foreign ministry had been universally positive.[5]