Iran Reviews Qatari Proposals on Nuclear Program as Talks Hopes Rise After US Midterms

On Friday, two Middle East government officials said Iran is reviewing proposals put forward by Qatar, the chief mediator in the conflict, meant to narrow the gap between Tehran and Washington over Iran's nuclear program. Both officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the delicate negotiations publicly.

The news has raised hopes that the two sides may be edging toward indirect talks on one of the hardest issues in the war, now more than eight months old. President Donald Trump has said the nuclear question must be settled as part of any deal to end the fighting. But one of the officials stressed that, for now, Iran is unwilling to negotiate over its atomic activities until the United States accepts several core conditions Tehran wants built into any ceasefire.

Those conditions are an end to the U.S. blockade of Iran's ports, the lifting of sanctions, the unfreezing of Iranian assets, compensation for war damage, and a halt to hostilities across the region, including Israeli operations in Lebanon. Trump has declined such concessions in the past.

The timing follows Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections, in which Trump's Republican Party lost both chambers of Congress. The defeat was driven in part by voter dissatisfaction with how Trump has run the war and by elevated fuel prices, a consequence of the conflict that has touched nearly every sector of the global economy. The White House declined to comment on the Qatari proposals. Trump told reporters Friday that mediators' discussions with Iran continue. "We are talking to Iran. We have been," he said, while maintaining that the U.S. military remains in control of the conflict with a battered Iran.

Regional officials described a possible bridge deal that Qatari mediators recently presented to both sides. It would unfold over two days of trust-building steps. First, the U.S. blockade would be lifted and some of the billions of dollars in Iranian funds frozen over the years, during Washington's campaign to isolate Iran over its nuclear program, would be released. In return, Iran would allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors into sites bombed by the U.S. and Israel.

On the second day, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a modified arrangement it has reached with Oman. The United States has not approved that arrangement, the officials said. It would be temporary, lasting until a permanent deal on the strait is reached with other Gulf countries. After those steps, the U.S. and Iran would begin extensive talks on Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium and other parts of its program.

The stockpile is the crux. Iran has long said its program is peaceful, but the IAEA reports that Iran holds 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a short technical step from the 90% weapons-grade level.

Diplomacy has quickened since the election. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke Friday with Qatar's defense minister, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to the Qatari government, which also confirmed an earlier call between Trump and Qatar's emir about easing tensions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Iraqi and Tunisian counterparts; Iraq's News Agency said he laid out with Fuad Hussein Tehran's vision for resuming negotiations with the U.S. Concern persists that Trump could still order new strikes on Iran.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who held two calls with Araghchi this week, wrote on X that both sides must show "flexibility" to reach the "compromise solutions" needed to keep the region from a new wave of escalation. He also spoke with Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan about preventing another military confrontation. What to watch next is whether Washington responds to the Qatari bridge proposal, and whether Iran's preconditions move.