Qatari mediators have returned to Tehran to advance efforts toward an agreement between Iran and the United States, as diplomatic attempts to end the ongoing conflict continue despite disagreements between the two sides.
The mediators arrived on Friday, five days after their previous visit on Sunday, October 25, according to a source familiar with the discussions who spoke to Reuters The mediation talks have been coordinated with Washington, the source said.
The renewed push follows Qatar’s presentation of a draft peace proposal to Iran on Sunday, which a senior Iranian official subsequently described as “unacceptable.”
Iran Rejects Qatar’s Proposal
The draft plan set out a seven-day timeline addressing concerns raised by both Tehran and Washington, with daily confidence-building steps and several countries acting as guarantors The timeline could have begun early next week.
But a senior Iranian official involved in the talks said Doha had presented only “unacceptable ideas and not an offer,” and that Tehran’s position on its nuclear programme remained unchanged.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf, one of Iran’s chief negotiators, reinforced the rejection. “Iran’s conditions have been clearly and repeatedly conveyed to the mediators. The carrot-and-stick strategy has no effect on Iran,” he wrote on Thursday. “Progress can only be made once Iran’s seven conditions have been accepted.”
Nuclear Disagreements Complicate Negotiations
A major obstacle remains the sequence in which the two countries want the negotiations to address their respective concerns.
Washington wants Iran’s nuclear programme included in discussions from the outset. Tehran, however, insists that the United States should first address measures affecting its economy, including the blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
These competing positions have made it difficult to establish a framework acceptable to both governments.
Iran Pushes Its Own Seven-Day Plan
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday that Tehran was consulting with intermediaries on proposals to implement its own seven-day plan to end the Middle East war.
Under that roadmap, which Iran sent to the US through Qatari mediation in late September, Washington would take agreed steps during the first five days, including ending hostilities, lifting the naval blockade, easing restrictions on crude oil exports, and releasing frozen assets On the sixth day, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and on the seventh day, negotiations on a comprehensive peace agreement would begin.
Araqchi said Iran continued to give diplomacy a chance to succeed, adding that the plan could be implemented in less than a week
Qatar Continues Its Diplomatic Intervention
Qatar has maintained a central role in mediation efforts, using its diplomatic relationships to facilitate communication between parties that remain deeply divided.
The return of its mediators to Tehran suggests that discussions are continuing despite Iran’s rejection of the latest proposals. However, renewed diplomatic engagement does not mean an agreement is imminent.
Any breakthrough will depend on whether Washington and Tehran can narrow their differences over nuclear negotiations, sanctions, and the conditions for ending the conflict.
For now, Qatar’s latest intervention represents another attempt to keep diplomatic channels open as the two countries remain far apart.
