Iran Spies Offered CIA Olive Branch As US, Israel Rained Fire On Tehran: Report

Members of the Iranian intelligence community quietly signalled a willingness to explore talks with the United States during the early days of the ongoing conflict with Washington and Israel, according to a report by The New York Times on Wednesday.

The outreach, described by officials familiar with the matter, suggests that behind the public posture adopted by Tehran's leadership, some Iranian figures may have sought indirect contact with American intelligence officials to discuss a possible end to the war.

Iran has labelled the report as "pure fabrication". The Tasnim news agency, citing a source at Iran's Intelligence Ministry, categorically denied claims published by the New York Times that "Iran's Intelligence Ministry forces have signaled readiness to engage in dialogue with the CIA to end the war."

According to the report, operatives from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence conveyed their message to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the intelligence service of a third country. The proposal reportedly came just a day after US and Israeli strikes on Iran began.

The approach has not led to negotiations. Officials in Washington remain sceptical about whether Tehran or the administration of President Donald Trump is prepared for a near-term diplomatic exit from the conflict.

Neither the White House nor the CIA have said anything about this. Iranian officials also did not respond to requests for comment, while the CIA declined to comment on the claims, claims the NYT report. 

The reported outreach came at a moment when Iran's leadership was presenting a public image of resistance.

In public statements, surviving Iranian leaders have rejected negotiations with President Trump as American and Israeli military operations continue against Iranian targets. Iranian officials have framed the conflict as an assault on the country's sovereignty.

On Tuesday, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva ruled out negotiations with the United States "for now," only days after the joint US-Israeli strikes began.

Yet according to officials briefed on the intelligence outreach, Iranian operatives privately conveyed interest in discussing terms for ending the conflict.

The proposal was transmitted through another country's intelligence service, the report said, citing Middle Eastern officials and officials from a Western nation who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Those officials said the message was delivered indirectly to the CIA soon after the attacks began.

Despite the approach, officials in Washington remain doubtful that either side is ready to pursue diplomacy.

People briefed on the outreach said American officials do not believe the offer represents a serious attempt at negotiations, at least in the immediate term.

Israeli officials have reportedly urged the United States to ignore the overture altogether. Israel's government has pushed for a sustained campaign lasting several weeks to inflict extensive damage on Iran's military capabilities and possibly destabilise the government in Tehran.

For now, the approach from Iranian intelligence operatives is not viewed as credible in Washington.

President Trump himself appeared to shut down the possibility of talks on Tuesday.

After days of saying he was open to discussing a deal with Iran, the president wrote on social media that it was now "too late" for negotiations.

Later, speaking to reporters, Trump said the situation had become complicated by the deaths of several Iranian officials who Washington had once considered potential interlocutors.

"Most of the people we had in mind are dead," Trump said. "Pretty soon we are not going to know anybody."

The reported outreach comes amid growing uncertainty about Iran's leadership structure as Israeli strikes continue.

The conflict escalated dramatically after a series of attacks that have targeted senior figures in Iran's political and military hierarchy.

In one of the most consequential developments, Israeli forces struck a compound where senior clerics were meeting to select a successor to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had been killed in an airstrike days earlier.