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A senior Iranian official said Qatari mediators had put forward only "unacceptable ideas and not an offer" to end the war with the U.S. and Israel, after a source said Doha presented Tehran with a new draft peace deal, Reuters reported.
The official, involved in the talks, said Iran’s policy of showing no flexibility on the nuclear issue remained unchanged, even as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was still giving diplomacy "a chance to succeed."
An official briefed on the negotiations, who is not Iranian, said the new draft was presented Sunday and was being considered by Tehran, with a response expected by the end of the week.
The Qatari proposal sets a seven-day timeline addressing both Tehran’s and Washington’s concerns, with daily confidence-building steps for each side, the official briefed on the talks said. The timeline could begin early next week, with several countries acting as guarantors.
Qatar has been pushing to convince Iran to allow U.N. inspectors to visit its bombed nuclear sites in return for some U.S. sanctions relief, Axios reported, citing U.S., Israeli and regional sources.
Iran confirmed a Qatari delegation visited Tehran on Sunday. Qatar, along with Pakistan, has led mediation efforts.
"While our Brave Armed Forces are fully prepared to defend the Homeland, Iran continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed," Araghchi wrote on X on Wednesday.
"We remain in close and ongoing contact with intermediaries to review ideas that can ensure implementation of our 7-Day Plan in even less than a week," he said.
Iran's own seven-day plan, presented via Qatari mediators in September and rejected by U.S. President Donald Trump, would have the U.S. end hostilities, lift its naval blockade, ease oil export restrictions and release frozen assets in the first five days. Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz on the sixth day, with negotiations resuming on the seventh.
Washington wants Iran's nuclear program included in talks from the outset, while Iran says its conditions, including an end to the U.S. blockade and lifting of oil sanctions, must be met first.
Iran rejects Western concerns that its program is military in nature.
Araghchi also warned of the "devastating impact on int’l markets of any Israel-instigated military misadventure in Persian Gulf region," referring to discussions at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit in Moscow.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Wednesday that Washington told Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a possible "short, intense military campaign" against Iran after the Nov. 3 U.S. midterms, though Trump has not made a final decision.
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