Qatar Renews Mediation in Tehran as US and Iran Remain Far Apart

Qatari mediators have returned to Tehran in a renewed effort to broker an agreement between the United States and Iran, an official briefed on the negotiations has said, despite deep disagreements between the two sides.

The mediators travelled back to the Iranian capital on Friday, in efforts coordinated with Washington, the official said. The visit follows the presentation of a Qatari draft peace plan to Iran on Sunday, which Tehran has greeted coolly. A senior Iranian official described what Doha had put forward as unacceptable ideas rather than a genuine offer, and said Iran would not shift its position on the nuclear issue.

FAKTA: US Iran mediation at a glance

• Latest step: Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday, 30 October
• Draft plan presented: Sunday, 25 October, with a seven-day timeline of confidence-building steps
• Tehran response expected: By the end of this week
• Washington position: Nuclear issues must be part of negotiations from the start
• Tehran demands: End to the United States blockade of Iranian ports and lifting of oil export sanctions
• Iranian proposal: Its own seven-day plan, under review with intermediaries
• Conflict duration: About eight months, since the war began on 28 February

Wide gap on nuclear issue and sanctions

The central obstacle in the US Iran mediation remains the order in which issues are addressed. Washington insists that Iran’s nuclear programme be included in negotiations from the outset. Tehran, by contrast, says its own conditions must come first, including an end to the blockade of its ports and the removal of sanctions restricting its oil exports.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday that Tehran remained in close contact with intermediaries and was reviewing ideas that could put its own seven-day proposal into practice. That proposal is linked to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy shipping route. The Qatari draft now under consideration sets out daily steps each side would take over seven days, with several countries acting as guarantors, and the timeline could begin as early as next week.

Washington signals contact as Tehran reviews options

United States President Donald Trump commented on the diplomatic contacts on Thursday, saying that outreach to Iran by Vice President JD Vance had concerned medical supplies. His remarks followed media reports linking the contact to efforts to revive peace negotiations. The full details of those discussions have not been disclosed.

Qatar, along with Pakistan, has led mediation efforts throughout the conflict, which has disrupted global shipping and oil supplies and recently spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Earlier mediation helped produce an interim peace agreement in June, but that deal quickly unravelled.

What happens next

The renewed visit keeps talks alive but signals no breakthrough yet. Both governments continue to defend positions that are far apart, and much will depend on Tehran’s response in the coming days and on whether the two sides can agree even on the sequence of steps. For more international news, see the Watan News English section.