Iran's Negotiators Leave Doha With a Draft Proposal Circulating — and Hormuz Offered Back in Two Days
Tehran's team departed Sunday with a draft US deal in circulation, a seven-step plan it says can now move faster, and one condition stated plainly: no agreement, and no reopened strait, while the US naval blockade stands.
Iranian negotiators have left the talks with Qatari mediators in Doha aimed at ending the war with the United States, and a draft proposal for a deal is now being circulated, an official briefed on the talks said on Monday. The negotiators departed on Sunday — not because of difficulties in the negotiations, the official said — and a follow-up meeting is possible.
The basis of the talks, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, is the seven-step plan Tehran drew up in September to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the US naval blockade on Iran — a proposal Iran now suggests could be implemented on a faster timeline. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi had been in Doha to exchange messages with Washington through the Qatari intermediaries, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Saturday that under a deal the strait could be opened within two days rather than the seven originally envisaged.
Tehran's condition was stated without ornament. "No final agreement can be initiated, nor can the Strait of Hormuz be reopened or secured, unless the US naval blockade is brought to an end, Iran's demands are respected, and Iran's legitimate requirements are addressed," Baghaei said. Iran's initial proposal was rejected by President Donald Trump, who has said the United States would not launch new attacks on Iran before Tuesday's midterm vote and that discussions have been productive — while not ruling out further military action afterwards. The diplomacy is moving, in other words, on the eve of an election that will help decide how much room he has to use it.
