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 from Qatar, the chief mediator in the war, that are meant to narrow its differences with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program. Both officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the delicate negotiations. The report, from the Associated Press, has raised hopes that the two sides may be edging toward indirect talks on the issue Donald Trump says must be settled in any deal ending a war now more than eight months old.

One of the officials cautioned that, for now, Iran is unwilling to negotiate its atomic activities with the Trump administration until Washington accepts several core conditions Tehran has demanded as part of 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 movement comes days after Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections, in which Republicans lost both chambers of Congress. The loss was fueled in part by voter dissatisfaction with how Trump has run the war and by elevated fuel prices, a byproduct 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' talks with Iran continue. "We are talking to Iran. We have been," he said, while insisting the U.S. military remains in control of the conflict with a battered Iran.

Regional officials described a possible bridge deal, recently presented to both sides by Qatari mediators, to clear the way for nuclear talks. It would begin with trust-building steps over two days. The United States would lift its blockade and release some of the billions of dollars in Iranian funds frozen over the years as part of a campaign to isolate Iran over its nuclear program. In return, Tehran would let International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors into sites bombed by the United States and Israel.

On the second day, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a modified agreement it has reached with Oman. The United States has not approved that arrangement. According to the officials, the mechanism would be temporary, lasting until a permanent deal on the strait is reached in cooperation 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 aspects of its program.

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

Diplomacy has quickened since the election. Leaders around the Persian Gulf and beyond have exchanged a flurry of calls aimed at easing tensions, amid mounting concern that Trump could still order new strikes on Iran. Qatar's government said Trump spoke with its emir on Friday about de-escalation, and that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later spoke with Qatari counterpart Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called 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.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who spoke with Araghchi twice this week, wrote on X that both sides must show "flexibility" to reach the "compromise solutions" needed to keep the region from sliding into fresh escalation. He also called Emirati counterpart Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to stress political negotiations as a way to prevent another military confrontation. What to watch next: whether the two-day bridge deal is accepted and carried out, and whether the threat of new U.S. strikes recedes.