TEL AVIV/DUBAI: Iran called on US President Donald Trump on Monday to force Israel to cease fire as the only way to end the four-day-old aerial war, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was on the "path to victory".
Israeli forces stepped up their bombardment of Iranian cities, while Iran proved capable of piercing Israeli air defences with one of its most successful volleys yet of retaliatory missile strikes.
"If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X.
"Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue. It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy." Sources said that Tehran had asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press Trump to use his influence on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire. In return, Iran would show flexibility in nuclear negotiations, said the two Iranian and three regional sources.
US President Donald Trump said that Iran was not winning its conflict with Israel and should re-enter negotiations "before it's too late."
"They have to make a deal, and it's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it's too late," Trump told reporters at a G7 summit in Canada.
Stocks rose and oil prices fell more than $2 per barrel on Monday after reports that Iran is seeking an end to hostilities with Israel, raising the possibility of a truce and easing fears of a disruption to crude supplies from the region.
The dollar dipped against the euro and pound, while safe-haven gold declined slightly.
"As things stand, investors seem less fearful than they were going into the weekend of the possibility that the war between Israel and Iran spreads across the Middle East, and beyond," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services provider Trade Nation.
"It appears that most of the Israeli air strikes and missile launches avoided the most significant parts of Iran's energy infrastructure. And so far Iran's retaliation has done relatively little damage," he added.
Wall Street's main stock indices pushed higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq up around 1.5 per cent in late morning deals.
In Europe, London, Paris and Frankfurt all closed the day with gains.
They tracked gains in Asia, where Tokyo closed up 1.3 per cent, boosted by a weaker yen, while Hong Kong and Shanghai also advanced. — Agencies
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