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ADVERTDUBAI, June 16 (Reuters) – Iran has told mediators Qatar and Oman that it is not open to negotiating a ceasefire while it is under Israeli attack, an official briefed on the communications told Reuters on Sunday, as the two foes launched fresh attacks and raised fears of a wider conflict.
“The Iranians informed Qatari and Omani mediators that they will only pursue serious negotiations once Iran has completed its response to the Israeli pre-emptive strikes,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the conflict.
Iran made “clear that it will not negotiate while under attack,” the official said.
Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on Friday morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will continue to escalate in coming days.
Iran has vowed to “open the gates of hell” in retaliation in what has emerged as the biggest ever confrontation between the longstanding enemies.
The official told Reuters media reports that Iran appealed to Oman and Qatar to engage the U.S. to broker a ceasefire and renew nuclear talks were inaccurate.
ADVERTIran’s foreign ministry did not respond to Reuters request for comment, nor did Qatar’s foreign ministry or Oman’s ministry of information.
Oman has in recent months mediated nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, though the most recent round was canceled a day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against Iran.
Qatar has also played a role facilitating talks between the two foes in the past, most recently mediating a prisoner swap agreement in 2023.
Oman and Qatar have good relations with both Iran and the U.S. and they also have communicated directly with Israel.
Additional reporting reveals Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on Sunday, killing and wounding civilians and raising concerns of a broader regional conflict, with both militaries urging civilians on the opposing side to take precautions against further strikes.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he hoped a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders in Canada on Sunday would reach an agreement to help resolve the conflict and keep it from escalating.
Iran has told mediators Qatar and Oman that it is not open to negotiating a ceasefire with the U.S. while it is under Israeli attack, an official briefed on the communications told Reuters on Sunday.
Israel’s military, which launched the attacks on Friday with the stated aim of wiping out Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, warned Iranians living near weapons facilities to evacuate. Early on Monday, it said Israel’s air force attacked surface-to-surface missile sites in central Iran.
“Iran will pay a heavy price for the murder of civilians, women and children,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said from a balcony overlooking blown-out apartments where six people were killed in Bat Yam, a town south of Tel Aviv.
Iran’s armed forces told residents of Israel to leave the vicinity of “vital areas” for their safety.
OIL PRICES RISE
Images from Tehran showed the night sky lit up by a huge blaze at a fuel depot after Israel began strikes against Iran’s oil and gas sector – raising the stakes for the global economy and the functioning of the Iranian state.
Brent crude futures were up $2.14, or 2.9%, to $76.37 a barrel by 2225 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed $2.03, or 2.8%, to $75.01. They surged more than $4 earlier in the session.
An Iranian health ministry spokesperson, Hossein Kermanpour, said the toll since the start of Israeli strikes had risen to 224 dead and more than 1,200 injured, 90% of whom he said were civilians. Those killed included 60 on Saturday, half of them children, in a 14-storey apartment block flattened in the Iranian capital.
