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

Iran is studying a set of proposals handed to it by Qatar, the 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 review has raised hopes that the two sides may be edging toward indirect talks on one of the hardest questions in the conflict, now more than eight months old. President Donald Trump has said the nuclear issue must be settled as part of any deal to end the war. One of the officials cautioned, though, that Iran for now will not negotiate over its atomic activities 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 these demands in the past.

The timing matters. The renewed engagement between Iranian and Qatari officials came days after Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections, in which Republicans lost both chambers of Congress. Voter unhappiness with Trump's handling of the war, and with elevated fuel prices that the conflict has pushed through nearly every sector of the global economy, helped drive that result. The White House declined to comment on the Qatari proposals. Asked by reporters Friday, Trump said, "We are talking to Iran. We have been." He maintains that the U.S. military remains in control of the conflict and that Iran has been battered.

Regional officials said mediators and Iran have discussed a bridge deal to clear the way for nuclear talks. Qatari mediators recently presented it to both sides. It would put trust-building measures into effect over two days. The first step would lift the U.S. blockade and release some of the billions of dollars in Iranian funds frozen over the years during a U.S. campaign to isolate Iran over its nuclear work. In return, Iran would let International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors into sites that the U.S. and Israel bombed.

On the second day, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a modified arrangement that Iran and Oman have reached on the waterway. The United States has not approved it. The officials said the mechanism would be temporary, lasting until a permanent agreement on the strait is made 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 sharpest point. Iran has long said its 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% level considered weapons-grade.

Diplomacy has picked up since the election, with a flurry of calls among leaders in the Gulf and beyond, driven partly by worry that Trump could still order new strikes on Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke Friday with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar's government said. It 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 to Fuad Hussein Tehran's vision for resuming talks 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 "compromise solutions" and keep the region from sliding into fresh escalation. He also spoke with Emirati counterpart Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. What to watch is whether either government accepts the two-day bridge plan, and whether Iran softens the conditions it has attached to any nuclear talks.