Qatari mediators presented Iran with a new draft agreement Sunday aimed at ending the war with the United States and Israel, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on Wednesday. Tehran is expected to respond to the proposal by the end of the week.
The proposed agreement outlines a seven-day timetable to address concerns raised by both Tehran and Washington, with daily confidence-building measures to be implemented by each side. The process could begin early next week, with several countries serving as guarantors of the agreement, the official said.
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei during the Tehran talks
Qatar and Pakistan have played leading roles in mediation efforts, including talks that produced a short-lived interim peace agreement in June.
The latest proposal follows an unusual diplomatic meeting Monday in Tehran involving senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. The talks, initiated by Pakistan, were aimed at preventing further regional escalation. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior Iranian officials attended, but Tehran's nuclear program was not discussed.
An Iranian official previously told Reuters that nuclear negotiations would remain off the agenda until Iran's conditions for ending the war were met, including lifting the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and removing sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
The official briefed on the latest negotiations said concerns had emerged ahead of Sunday's talks that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking another term in Israel's election, could resume strikes against Iran this week.
Benjamin Netanyahu could resume strikes against Iran this week. President Donald Trump renewed his threats to strike Iran on Friday
(Photo: ATTA KENARE / AFP, JOE RAEDLE / AFP, Anna Moneymaker AFP)
President Donald Trump renewed his threats to strike Iran on Friday, while Iranian security officials told Reuters that Tehran had prepared detailed plans to attack undersea cables in the Gulf if the United States and Israel resumed military operations.
Earlier mediation efforts produced an interim peace agreement in June, but the deal quickly collapsed.
The renewed diplomatic push comes amid escalating regional tensions, with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels repeatedly attacking Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter. The Houthis recently claimed strikes on pumping stations along the kingdom's strategically important East-West oil pipeline and on Riyadh's airport.
Egypt's parliament also approved defensive military assistance for Saudi Arabia on Monday, authorizing measures to help protect the kingdom against external attacks. A regional official said the assistance would involve air defense systems rather than ground troops.
The continuing attacks and mounting military threats have intensified efforts by regional mediators to prevent another round of fighting and secure a broader agreement to end the war.