US in Back-Channel Talks to Warn Iran Against Israel Conflict Involvement

The US has been holding back-channel talks with Iranian officials to warn them against escalating the conflict in Israel according to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in a CBS interview Sunday.

• “We have means of communicating privately with Iran, and we have availed ourselves of those means over the past few days to make clear privately that which we have said publicly,” Sullivan said.
• The US is unable to rule out that Iran may become involved in the conflict via direct or proxy activity such as via Hezbollah in Lebanon he said.
• He added there appears to be no evidence suggesting the risk of escalation by Iran has increased. The US has deployed the USS Eisenhower carrier group to the East Med to help deterrence efforts.
• Sullivan also denied reports that talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia to establish diplomatic ties had been formally paused.
• “There’s not some kind of formal pause,” he told NBC. “But the long-term goal of a more peaceful, more integrated Middle East region, including through normalization, remains very much a focus of US foreign policy.”
• Fears around Iranian oil infrastructure becoming a target, stronger US sanctions on its increasing oil flows (mainly to China) and the fallout of Saudi/Israel normalization talks stalling, have driven oil markets over the last week.
• Crudes ascent was given a brief reprieve last Wednesday when an NYT article said US intelligence showed Iran had no knowledge of the attacks in Israel by Hamas before gaining ground again in the tail end of the week as the escalation in the region gathered pace.