Qatar is racing to broker a US Iran deal to end the war between the two countries, with mediators saying on Tuesday 3 November that both sides were studying fresh proposals, even as Tehran warned it was updating lists of American and Israeli targets. The push comes after limited US strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island and as Washington digests the results of the US midterm elections.
Qatar sees a ‘glimmer of hope’ for US Iran deal
Qatari mediators flew to Tehran on Monday night to discuss a version of a draft agreement that has been on the table for about eight days, before returning to Doha as talks went on, Reuters reported.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said both Washington and Tehran were reviewing the mediators’ proposals. He argued that negotiations would not be happening at all “if there were no glimmer of hope”.
An official briefed on the talks said feedback from both sides was expected within 36 hours, but a senior Iranian official insisted there was no deadline for exchanging messages.
Tehran’s demands
Iran wants oil sanctions waived, the US naval blockade lifted and its frozen funds released. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, called Washington’s reply to Tehran’s seven conditions unconvincing and said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen only when they were met.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iran had sent a firm response and the next move was up to the Americans. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said earlier in the week that Tehran did not expect the midterms to produce “a new US”.
Strikes, drones and target lists
Any US Iran deal is being negotiated against a tense military backdrop. A US official described overnight strikes on Qeshm as defensive, aimed at surface-to-air missiles used against American assets, and said they did not mark a return to full-scale combat.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they shot down US drones near the Strait of Hormuz, and armed forces chief Ali Abdollahi said target lists covering US and Israeli assets were being updated. Hardline newspaper Kayhan named US facilities in Britain, Italy, Greece, Romania, Albania and Cyprus as possible targets if war resumes.
Trump told Fox News on Tuesday he was not looking to kill large numbers of people, but added: “If we have to, we’ll have to.”
Oil, shipping and the wider region
Oil prices rose about 1.3 per cent on Tuesday after tumbling more than 7 per cent the previous day on hopes of a breakthrough. Iranian state media also said three oil tankers had struck mines in the Strait, according to a Khaleej Times live blog of the day’s events.
The cost of the conflict is being felt far beyond the Gulf. Lufthansa said its 2026 fuel bill would be about €2 billion higher because of the war, while Yemen’s Houthis said Saudi strikes had killed 17 people over two days.
Away from the US Iran deal itself, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said talks with Saudi Arabia on regional security arrangements without foreign military forces were continuing.
Read more: COUNTDOWN TO WW3? The flashpoints spy chiefs and analysts fear most, and the brakes still holding the world back · GREENLAND SAYS YES: Island votes 16-0 for US bases deal after a year of Trump threats
Sources: The Korea Times (Reuters), Khaleej Times, GMA News (Reuters)
Leave a Reply