The key facts

  • A Qatari delegation held a more than three-hour meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran and returned to Doha
  • Doha is working on an interim agreement intended to build trust between the parties
  • The overnight US strikes on Qeshm Island did not halt the negotiation process

Talks continue despite strikes

Qatar said on Tuesday, November 3, that hope for an agreement between the United States and Iran remains alive, as mediators exchange proposals in real time following talks in Tehran. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said at a weekly briefing in Doha, as reported by euronews.

The course of the talks and the interim deal plan

A Qatari delegation met with Iranian officials for more than three hours on Monday and returned to Doha the same evening; now, according to al-Ansari, Washington and Tehran are studying the proposals. At the same time, Doha is working on a temporary agreement designed to build trust and give both sides the opportunity to demonstrate compliance with their commitments.

The war's context and Tehran's position

The war began after US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, which led to separate blockades of the Strait of Hormuz by the United States and Iran — a key route for oil and gas exports. Despite the overnight US strikes on the Iranian island of Qeshm in the strait, al-Ansari said that Doha assesses the talks by official responses to its proposals, not by public threats and statements. He stressed that freedom of navigation is 'not up for discussion', condemning threats against vessels from Qatar and other countries, and warned that attacks on ships and military escalation threaten the entire region and will affect the course of the talks. Iranian officials, for their part, have repeatedly stated that Tehran's conditions must be met before the strait is reopened and talks on the nuclear program begin.