The Trump administration established a secret line of communication with senior figures in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after US officials concluded that the Iranian representatives participating in negotiations did not have the authority to make a binding agreement, according to a report.

The outreach came as American negotiators grew increasingly frustrated during discussions with Tehran and began questioning whether their Iranian counterparts actually represented the views of the IRGC, Axios reported.

Seeking a direct path to those wielding power inside Iran, the administration turned to Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Barzani was considered a trusted figure by both Washington and the IRGC and was asked to help connect the United States with Iran’s true decision-makers, three sources told Axios.

The effort highlighted a central challenge confronting the White House as it seeks to negotiate an end to the war: determining who inside Iran has the authority to make commitments and finding intermediaries trusted by both Washington and the increasingly powerful IRGC.

The conflict has severely depleted Iran’s senior leadership while further consolidating the Revolutionary Guard’s influence. When the White House initially pursued an agreement in May, US officials reportedly discovered that the Iranian negotiators with whom they were dealing lacked the authority to finalize a deal and could be overruled by the IRGC.

Tulsi Gabbard, who was serving as director of national intelligence at the time, sought Barzani’s assistance because of his extensive connections inside Iran. According to the report, she wanted him to determine whether IRGC Commander Ahmad Vahidi supported the proposals being presented by Iranian negotiators or whether the Revolutionary Guard chief was demanding different terms.

Gabbard had previously been unable to establish direct contact with Vahidi. Barzani subsequently convinced the IRGC to facilitate communication between the two.

American officials also sought Barzani’s help in arranging secret face-to-face negotiations between high-ranking US and Iranian representatives in Erbil, Iraq.

Those clandestine talks ultimately never occurred because Iranian officials were reportedly concerned that Israeli intelligence could discover the meeting and attempt to assassinate them.

Barzani has continued his efforts to facilitate diplomacy, sending messages to the White House indicating that he is prepared to assist in restarting negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

US-Iran discussions have continued through other channels, with Pakistan and Qatar acting as intermediaries between the two countries. Despite those ongoing diplomatic efforts, however, the negotiations have so far produced little substantive progress.