Qatari mediators return to Tehran as Iran rejects Doha's peace plan

Mediators return to Tehran

Mediators from Qatar went back to the Iranian capital on Friday, 30 October, for fresh talks aimed at ending the war in the Middle East, an official familiar with the negotiations told Reuters. The official said the mediation is being coordinated with the United States. The trip follows a Qatari draft peace plan presented to Iranian authorities on Sunday, 25 October. A senior Iranian official dismissed the proposals as unacceptable and said Tehran would keep its position on the nuclear programme.

A dispute over sequencing

The main obstacle is the order in which each side's conditions would be addressed. Washington wants Iran's nuclear programme on the table from the start. Tehran wants the United States to first lift its blockade of Iranian ports and the sanctions hitting oil exports. Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday, 28 October, that Iran remains in close contact with the intermediaries as it studies proposals that could allow its own seven-day plan to end the war to be carried out. He also said Tehran is still discussing with mediators a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil shipments. Control of the strait has become a central point of the conflict, which began in late February after US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

The Vance letter

On Wednesday, 28 October, The Wall Street Journal reported that Vice President JD Vance had sent a letter to Tehran. The newspaper said Vance was assessing whether the two sides could find enough common ground to persuade Trump not to order a brief and intense attack on Iran in the coming weeks. It also said the initiative aimed at a possible framework for talks rather than an immediate peace agreement. One source cited by the newspaper said the letter was sent at Trump's request, a claim Trump later denied. On Thursday, 29 October, Iranian news agency Fars, citing a source close to the process, said the message was addressed to Mohsen Rezai, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and that Tehran had not yet replied. Tasnim said Tehran is demanding that Washington first meet its seven conditions. Trump said the outreach concerned medical supplies for Iran. The exchange comes as Washington and Israel have stepped up threats of new strikes on Iran.

Vance in Texas and the midterms

On Thursday, 29 October, Vance spoke at a public forum in Fort Worth, Texas, organised by Fox News. Answering a Republican voter who asked whether the government was keeping its promise to end costly foreign interventions, he said the United States had been involved in the conflict for seven months and that relations with Tehran had been marked by 47 years of tension. He said Trump would not let the war with Iran become an endless one, and argued that opposing prolonged interventions does not mean rejecting force altogether. The remarks came five days before the midterm elections on 3 November, where foreign policy and the war are among voters' main concerns. A Pew Research Center survey conducted between 28 September and 4 October found 65% of Americans disapprove of how Trump has handled the military operation in the Middle East, while 33% support it.

Disapprove65%

Support33%

Disapprove

65 %

Support

33 %

Data from the article text