THE United States and Iran are still far from a deal to end their war, a senior Iranian official told Reuters yesterday, while mediator Qatar stepped up efforts to bridge differences and avert a renewed escalation after the US midterm elections.
Overnight, the United States carried out ‘defensive’ strikes on Iran’s Qeshm island targeting surface-to-air missiles used against US assets, a US official said. Another official said the strikes appeared limited and did not signal a return to major combat operations.
US President Donald Trump renewed threats of possible military action, telling Fox News Channel: “I’m not looking to ... kill lots of people. If we have to, we’ll have to.”
Qatar has intensified mediation efforts amid fears the conflict launched by the United States and Israel in February could flare up again after the US midterms.
“Mediators are working hard to narrow gaps between Tehran and Washington,” the senior Iranian official said. Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran on Monday night for talks on a version of a draft US-Iran deal discussed over the past eight days.
“Tehran’s conditions must be met if the US wants Hormuz reopened,” the Iranian official cautioned, referring to Iranian demands including waiving oil sanctions, ending the US naval blockade and releasing frozen Iranian funds.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, later said the US response to Iranian demands ‘was not convincing’, adding that Washington ‘must fully and explicitly address Iran’s seven conditions and act upon them’.
On Monday, Trump raised doubts about whether he would follow through on a threatened resumption of military strikes against Iran and said a deal with Tehran could happen.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said both the United States and Iran were reviewing proposals put forward by mediators. While the Qatari team that travelled to Tehran had returned to Doha, talks were continuing.
“There are intensive joint regional efforts underway to avoid escalation,” he told a news briefing, adding that Qatar remained hopeful a deal could still be reached to pave the way for future negotiations.
“If there were no glimmer of hope, there would be no negotiations... and as a mediator, we cannot lose hope,” he said.
An official briefed on the talks said feedback from Washington and Tehran was expected within the next 36 hours.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters later that there is no deadline for exchanging messages with Washington through mediators or reviewing responses.
Oil prices rose about 1.3 per cent, having dropped more than 7pc the previous day on hopes diplomacy was progressing.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they downed a US MQ-9 drone and two Lucas drones in the skies near the Strait of Hormuz.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the ball was in Washington’s court after Tehran had delivered what he described as a “strong and rational response”.
“The enemy seeks to force the Iranian nation into submission through threats and military action, but they are sorely mistaken; Iran will not submit,” Qalibaf said. He added that Tehran’s response to any US miscalculation would be unpredictable and unconstrained by geography.
The head of Iran’s armed forces general staff, Ali Abdollahi, said Iran’s military was updating target lists that included US and Israeli assets and would respond immediately to any threat.
Hardline newspaper Kayhan said that US facilities in Britain, Italy, Greece, Romania, Albania and Cyprus could be targeted in the event of renewed war.
Alongside indirect exchanges between Tehran and Washington, regional powers are pursuing diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation. The conflict has also widened, with Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis stepping up attacks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that talks with Saudi Arabia were continuing to seek new regional security arrangements that would exclude foreign military involvement.
Last week, senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan met Iranian counterparts in Tehran, the first such high-level contacts since August.
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