Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan attempted to organize a meeting between high-ranking American and Iranian officials in Istanbul, but their attempt failed because they could not reach an agreement with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. This was because the ayatollah could not be found.
On Monday, June 16, Erdogan called Trump and proposed a meeting between American and Iranian officials in Istanbul the next day to discuss a diplomatic solution to the conflict, said three American officials and a person familiar with the discussions to Axios.
Trump Was Sending Vance and Witkoff to Istanbul, But He Might Have Gone Himself
Trump agreed and stated that he was prepared to send Vice President J.D. Vance and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, even indicating willingness to personally travel to Istanbul to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan then conveyed the proposal to Pezeshkian and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Axios sources say that Pezeshkian and Araghchi tried to contact Ali Khamenei to obtain his approval. However, Iran's Supreme Leader is in hiding due to threats of an assassination attempt, so they were unable to reach him.
A few hours later, the Iranian side informed Turkey that they could not secure Khamenei's approval. Turkey then informed Washington that the meeting was canceled, according to the publication's sources.
Trump's Messages After the Diplomatic Failure
Shortly thereafter, Trump posted an extraordinary public message to Khamenei on Truth Social, as reported by the source.
"Iran should have signed the 'deal' that I told them to sign. What a shame and waste of human lives. Simply put, IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I've said it countless times! Everyone should evacuate Tehran immediately!" Trump wrote.
A White House official noted that Trump's call for civilians to evacuate Tehran - a city of 10 million inhabitants, with 17 million in the extended metropolitan area - reflects his desire to protect Iranian lives in the event of a large-scale attack on Iran.
Khamenei Is in Hiding and Has Designated Successors
According to the New York Times, Iran's Supreme Leader stays in touch with his commanders through a trusted advisor and doesn't even communicate via email to make it harder to trace his location. According to the newspaper's sources, he is hiding in a bunker.
Furthermore, Khamenei has already designated three successors who could assume the role of Iran's Supreme Leader in the event of his death.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously stated that he does not rule out an operation to kill Khamenei. Reuters reported on June 15 that Israel had the option to kill Iran's Supreme Leader, but the plan was rejected by Donald Trump.
The White House announced that Trump will make a decision within two weeks on the possibility of the United States attacking Iran.
On Saturday morning, six B-2 stealth bombers took off from their base in Missouri and began heading west, according to flight tracking data. The B-2 Spirit is the only American aircraft specially capable of destroying the nuclear site at Fordow in Iran.