Iranian negotiators were in Doha on Sunday for the third consecutive day of negotiations with mediators from Qatar, with the aim of promoting an agreement to end the war started by the United States and Israel against Iran, a Reuters official familiar with the discussions said.
The negotiations are taking place amid concerns that the conflict could intensify again after the midterm elections in the United States on November 3. U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States would not launch new attacks against Iran before the vote and that talks with Tehran have been productive, though he did not rule out new military actions after the election.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, said on Sunday that the objective of the negotiations “ongoing and progressing” was to continue the consultations with the Qatari mediators, adding that Tehran is prepared for both “defense and diplomacy.”
In statements to state media, Araqchi said that discussions on a “two-day proposal” were continuing, but that no definitive conclusion had been reached.
Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera cited Araqchi, who said in an interview on Saturday that Iranian and Qatari negotiators had drafted a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days after a possible agreement with Washington.
Iran has repeatedly stated that it would respond to any new attacks by striking targets of the United States and Israel in neighboring countries, as the eight-month-old war continues to disrupt global oil supplies and spread across the Middle East.
“We are doing our best in this process and hope there will be rationality on the other side, so that diplomacy is prioritized over other avenues,” Araqchi said about the talks with the Qatari authorities.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, ordered on Saturday that the armed forces be prepared for any attack, while the armed forces later announced measures to bolster readiness.
The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said on Saturday that Trump has not yet decided whether to launch new attacks against Iran, but that he would prefer to resolve the conflict diplomatically.
Mediators from Qatar were in Tehran on Friday for discussions with Iranian authorities before transferring the talks to Doha on Saturday, a Reuters official said. The negotiations were being coordinated through regular contacts with Washington, the official added.
