The Back-Channel Diplomacy Behind Trump's U-Turn on Iran

Foreign ministers from Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan gathered before dawn Thursday in Riyadh for talks aimed at finding a diplomatic off-ramp to the war in Iran.

But there was one big problem, according to Arab officials involved in the discussions: finding a counterpart in Iran to negotiate with. Earlier that week, Israel killed Iran's national security chief, Ali Larijani, who had been considered a viable partner who could engage with the West.

Egyptian intelligence officials managed to open a channel with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—the paramilitary group that protects the Iranian regime and is the country's most powerful security and political entity—and put forward a proposal to halt hostilities for five days to build confidence for a cease-fire, some of the officials said.