Iran Reviews Qatari Proposals on Nuclear Program as Talks Hopes Rise After U.S. Midterms

Iran is studying a set of proposals from Qatar, the chief mediator in its war with the United States, that are meant to narrow the gap over Tehran's nuclear program. Two Middle East government officials said so on Friday. Neither was authorized to speak publicly about the delicate negotiations, and both asked not to be named.

The development 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. But one of the officials stressed that, for now, Iran is still unwilling to negotiate over its atomic activities until Washington accepts several core conditions Tehran wants written into any ceasefire.

Those conditions are specific. Iran wants the U.S. blockade of its ports ended, sanctions lifted, its frozen assets released, compensation paid for war damage, and hostilities halted across the region, including Israeli operations in Lebanon. Trump has turned down such concessions in the past. The White House declined to comment on the Qatari proposals, though Trump told reporters Friday that mediators' talks with Iran continue. "We are talking to Iran. We have been," he said. He also insisted the U.S. military remains in control of the conflict with a battered Iran.

The timing matters. The stepped-up engagement between Iran and Qatari officials, and Tehran's small show of openness on the nuclear file, comes just days after Tuesday's midterm elections, in which Republicans lost both chambers of Congress. The defeat was driven in part by voter dissatisfaction with how Trump has run the war and by high fuel prices, a consequence of the conflict that has touched nearly every sector of the global economy.

Regional officials described a possible bridge deal that Qatari mediators recently presented to both sides. It would run on trust-building steps carried out over two days. The first would lift the U.S. blockade and release some of the billions of dollars in Iranian funds frozen over the years as part of a U.S. campaign to isolate Iran over its nuclear program. In exchange, Tehran would let 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 that Iran and Oman have reached but the United States has not approved. The officials said that mechanism would be temporary, lasting until a permanent deal on the strait is struck 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.

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

A wave of diplomacy has accompanied the proposals. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke Friday with his Qatari counterpart, 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 to 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 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 a new round of escalation. He also called his Emirati counterpart, Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to stress the need for political negotiations. What to watch now is whether Washington approves the bridge proposal, particularly the Hormuz arrangement it has not yet signed off on.