In a war that has now stretched past eight months, a small country in the Gulf is quietly weighing a set of proposals carried across borders by a mediator, hoping to find a path through a conflict that has spread its costs into kitchens, gas stations, and ballot boxes far from the battlefield. Iran is considering how far it can bend on its nuclear program without first being asked to give up everything it considers essential to its survival. Whether the careful exchange of demands and small gestures can become a real conversation, or whether the quiet hope of the moment will be overtaken by re
Iran Reviews Qatari Proposals on Nuclear Program as Talks Hopes Rise After US Midterms
In a war that has now stretched past eight months, a small country in the Gulf is quietly weighing a set of proposals carried across borders by a mediator, hoping to find a path through a conflict that has spread its costs into kitchens, gas stations, and ballot boxes far from the battlefield. Iran is considering how far it can bend on its nuclear program without first being asked to give up everything it considers essential to its survival. Whether the careful exchange of demands and small gestures can become a real conversation, or whether the quiet hope of the moment will be overtaken by renewed force, remains an open question that belongs as much to the next few days as to the long record of this struggle.
Iran is studying a package of proposals handed over by Qatar, its chief mediator in the war with the United States. The aim is to narrow the gap over Tehran's nuclear program. Two Middle East officials described the review on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are delicate. Their account has stirred hope that the two sides may be moving toward indirect talks, though one official stressed that Iran will not discuss its atomic activities until Washington accepts the core conditions Tehran has set for any ceasefire.
The timing carries weight. The renewed engagement came days after midterm elections in which Republicans lost both chambers of Congress, a result shaped by voter anger over the war and the fuel prices it has pushed through the global economy. The White House declined to comment on the proposals, though Trump said talks with mediators continue and that the U.S. military remains in control.
At the heart of the proposals is a two-day bridge deal. Iran would admit International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to sites bombed during the conflict, and in return Washington would lift its blockade and release some frozen Iranian funds. On the second day, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a temporary arrangement it reached with Oman, which the United States has not approved. Only after these steps would substantive talks on Iran's uranium stockpile begin. Diplomatic activity is spreading across the region, with calls among defense chiefs, foreign ministers, and emirs, all pressing for compromise, while the threat of new strikes remains.
Iran is studying a set of proposals handed over by Qatar, its chief mediator in the war with the United States, that are meant to narrow the two countries' differences over Tehran's nuclear program. Two Middle East government officials described the review on Friday. Neither was authorized to speak publicly about the delicate negotiations, and both asked not to be named.
The news has raised hopes that the two sides may be edging toward indirect talks on the issue President Donald Trump says must be settled in any deal ending a war now more than eight months old. One of the officials cautioned, though, that Iran for now will not negotiate with the Trump administration over its atomic activities until Washington accepts several core conditions Tehran has demanded as part of any ceasefire.
The timing is hard to miss. The stepped-up engagement between Iranian and Qatari officials came just days after Tuesday's midterm elections, in which Republicans lost both chambers of Congress. Voter unhappiness with how Trump has conducted the war, and with elevated fuel prices that the conflict has pushed through nearly every sector of the global economy, helped fuel that defeat.
The White House declined to comment on the Qatari proposals. Trump told reporters Friday that talks with mediators 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.
Iran's list of demands is one Trump has turned down before: an end to the U.S. blockade of Iran's ports, the lifting of sanctions, the unfreezing of its assets, compensation for war damage, and an end to hostilities across the region, including Israeli operations in Lebanon.
Regional officials said mediators and Iran have discussed a bridge deal to open the way to nuclear talks. Qatari mediators recently presented it to both sides. It calls for trust-building steps over two days. Those include lifting the U.S. blockade and releasing some of the billions of dollars in Iranian funds frozen over the years during a U.S. campaign to isolate Iran over its nuclear program. In return, Tehran would admit International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to 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 struck with other Gulf countries. After these steps, the U.S. and Iran would begin extensive talks on Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium and other parts of its program.
Iran has long said its nuclear program is peaceful. The IAEA says Iran holds 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, a short technical step from the 90% weapons-grade level.
Diplomacy has picked up around the region. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke Friday with Qatari counterpart Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Qatar confirmed earlier that Trump and its emir had also spoken about de-escalation. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called his Iraqi and Tunisian counterparts; Iraq's News Agency said he laid out Tehran's vision for resuming negotiations with Fuad Hussein. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who spoke with Araghchi twice this week, urged both sides on X to show "flexibility" and reach "compromise solutions" to avoid a new wave of escalation, and he also called his Emirati counterpart. Concern persists that Trump could still order new strikes. The question now is whether mediators can reconcile Iran's preconditions with Washington's position before any nuclear talks begin.
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su Boulder Daily Camera ↗
Politics & Governance