Iran Reviews Qatari Proposals on Nuclear Program as Talks With U.S. Tentatively Take Shape

Two Middle East government officials said Friday that Iran is studying a set of proposals handed over by Qatar, the chief mediator, meant to narrow the gap with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program. Both spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the delicate negotiations publicly.

The report raises hopes that the two sides may be edging toward indirect talks on one of the hardest issues in the conflict, which is now more than eight months old. President Donald Trump has said the nuclear question must be resolved as part of any deal to end the war. But one of the officials stressed that, for now, Iran remains unwilling to 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 Iranian 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 is notable. The stepped-up engagement between Iran and Qatari officials comes days after Trump's Republican Party suffered a stunning repudiation in Tuesday's midterm elections, losing both chambers of Congress. The loss was fueled in part by voter dissatisfaction with how Trump has handled 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 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.

Regional officials described the outline of a possible bridge deal, recently presented by Qatari mediators to both sides, to open the way to nuclear talks. It calls for trust-building steps carried out over two days. Those would 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 work. In return, Iran 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 that Iran and Oman have reached, which 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. Once the steps are carried out, 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 up to 60% purity, a short technical step from weapons-grade 90%.

A flurry of phone diplomacy has accompanied the proposals, driven partly by concern that Trump could still order new strikes on Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke Friday with Qatari counterpart Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Qatari government said, after confirming that Trump and Qatar's emir had held a separate call on de-escalation. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Iraqi and Tunisian counterparts; Iraq's News Agency said he outlined to Fuad Hussein Tehran's vision for resuming talks with the U.S. Egypt's Badr Abdelatty, who spoke with Araghchi twice this week, urged both sides on X to show "flexibility" and reach "compromise solutions," and he called his Emirati counterpart, Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to stress political negotiation over another military confrontation.

What to watch now is whether the U.S. responds to the bridge proposal, and whether Iran's preconditions soften enough to allow the nuclear talks to begin.