Amid Israel Barrage, Iran Signals Urgent Desire to Talk Now

With Israel claiming air superiority over Iran's capital city of Tehran, Iran is reportedly sending urgent signals to Israel, U.S. Arab allies, and European officials it wants a ceasefire and a return to diplomacy.

President Donald Trump confirmed "Iran wants to talk," but he indicated before a meeting with Group of Seven leaders in Canada that Iran might have waited too long past his 60-day deadline. Israel's assault on Iran's nuclear program came on the 61st day, Trump noted this weekend.

Trump was noncommittal on whether he is going to take the Iranians up on this at this point, and declined to comment about how the U.S. might be "getting involved."

Amid the new Iranian urgency, Newsmax's Washington, D.C., correspondent Logan Ratick has confirmed the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group is on its way to the Middle East from the South China Sea.

The Nimitz was previously scheduled to replace the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group, which has been deployed for several months, but is now heading to the Middle East ahead of schedule. The two will now be in the Mideast at the same time.

This is a significant symbolic deployment because the Nimitz was deployed to the Mideast in 1980 and its helicopters that were part of the failed U.S. effort known as Operation Eagle Claw to rescue the American hostages held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Monday that Iran was urging the U.S. to not join Israel's four-day assault, pleading that allies talk to Trump about nuclear and ceasefire talks with Israel.

"The Iranians know the U.S. is supporting Israel in its defense, and they are sure the U.S. is supporting Israel logistically, but they want guarantees the U.S. won't join the attacks," an Arab official told the Journal.

Israel has claimed its ability to fly planes unabated over Tehran on Monday, though, making Israel's desire to capitulate now unlikely, according to the report.

Newsmax's European correspondent Alex Salvi reported the G7 leaders are preparing a statement for de-escalation in the Middle East, including declaring Israel's right to self-defense and rejecting Iran's path to a nuclear weapon.

Trump has not signed off on the statement, and officials told CBS News that he has no intention to.

Salvi posted on X:

NEW: G7 leaders are preparing a joint statement on the Israel-Iran conflict:

• Calls on both sides to deescalate

• Says Israel "has the right to defend itself"

• Says Iran "can never have a nuclear weapon"

Trump has not yet signed off on the statement.

Notably, as with Hamas terrorists in Gaza, calls for a ceasefire tend to be mere attempts to stall military action to allow its forces to regroup amid an onslaught, experts have told Newsmax.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to maintain pressure for weeks, if not months, in the mission to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons program.

Israel says it's not seeking regime change in Iran, but also would not rule that out as an eventuality from the campaign to take out nuclear weapons aspirations and key Iranian leadership.

Tehran has asked Trump's allies in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman to press his influence on Israel for an immediate ceasefire in return for Tehran's flexibility in nuclear negotiations, two Iranian and three regional sources told Reuters on Monday.

Gulf leaders and their top diplomats worked the phones all weekend, speaking to each other, to Tehran, Washington, and beyond in an effort to avoid a widening of the conflict as longstanding enemies Israel and Iran intensified their attacks in their biggest ever confrontation.

Iran is willing to be flexible in the nuclear talks if a ceasefire is reached, one of the Iranian sources said.

The Gulf States are deeply concerned the conflict will spin out of control, a Gulf source close to government officials told Reuters.

Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia have all appealed to Washington to press Israel to agree to a ceasefire and to resume talks with Tehran toward a nuclear deal, the Gulf source said.

The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Information from Reuters was used to compile this report.