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]
PBD Podcast: ‘Trump could spin us out’
On the PBD Podcast on 23 April 2026, John Kiriakou said the American-Iranian confrontation was “unique because Donald Trump is president.” Trump, he said, had “this innate ability to spin things better than any previous president” and could plausibly appear in a national television address to declare “we won, it’s all over, we’re coming home,” concluding the crisis on his own terms.[6][7] He said this was the moment to “let the diplomats do what they’re trained to do,” naming Oman, the Houthis and Algeria as the diplomatic back-channels the United States had historically used with Iran and had, in his view, underused.[7] He characterised the divergence between the American position and the Israeli position as the real obstacle — citing the president’s announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon followed twenty-four hours later by an Israeli bombing raid as evidence that “we have competing interests.”[8]
Two approaches in ten days
John Kiriakou reported that Trump had reached out behind the scenes twice within ten days for a ceasefire with the Iranians, and that they had played games with the approaches rather than accept.[9] Benjamin Netanyahu did not like the reports and telephoned the White House to establish whether they were true.[9]
Kiriakou was subsequently asked about reporting from the Greek correspondent Thanassis Avgerinos, based in Moscow, that Trump had asked Vladimir Putin to intervene and broker a ceasefire after the first two attempts were turned down. He had not heard it himself but said he would not be surprised.[10][11] His own recommendation for stopping Russian targeting support to Iran was the same channel: ask Moscow directly.[12]