Middle East scrambles to find US, Iran a diplomatic off-ramp

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A number of Middle Eastern governments are trying to push the U.S. and Iran into talks to head off a possible conflict, efforts that so far are failing to gain traction as both sides dig in.

The diplomatic efforts have new urgency now that the U.S. has moved more firepower into the region and President Trump is making new threats to attack Iran if a deal isn’t reached. But Iran has stuck by its longstanding red lines for negotiations while the U.S.

has toughened the terms it wants to see in a deal. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held separate calls Wednesday with his Iranian counterpart and Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff but made no progress. Iran strongly objected to the U.S.

terms and warned targets across the region would be fair game in the event of a U.S. strike, people familiar with the conversations said. Efforts by Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia in recent days were similarly fruitless, people familiar with those outreaches said.

The failures raise the risk of military conflict as the U.S. brings an aircraft carrier group, squadrons of warplanes and more missile defenses into the region to support a possible attack. “Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal," Trump said Wednesday on social media.

“Time is running out," he warned, before making a reference to last year’s U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. “The next attack will be far worse!" A White House official declined earlier to comment on negotiations with Iran.