TEHRAN; Qatari mediators have presented Iran with a new draft deal to end the war with the United States and Israel, an official briefed on the negotiations said, but a senior Iranian official said Doha had only put forward unacceptable ideas that did not amount to an offer. The official briefed on the negotiations, who is not from Iran, said a new draft peace proposal for the eight-month-old conflict was presented on Sunday and was being considered by Tehran, with a response expected by the end of the week. Qatar, along with Pakistan, has led mediation to end the war, which has disrupted global shipping and oil supplies and recently spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The proposal presented by Qatar sets a seven-day timeline addressing both Tehran’s and Washington’s concerns, laying out daily confidence-building steps that each side must take, the official briefed on the negotiations said. The timeline could begin early next week and several countries would act as guarantors of the deal, the official added. Shortly afterwards, a senior Iranian official involved in the talks said Qatar had presented only “unacceptable ideas and not an offer”, and that Tehran’s policy on showing no flexibility over the nuclear issue remained unchanged. Washington wants Iran’s decades-long nuclear program to be part of negotiations to end the war from the outset, while Iran says its conditions — which include an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports and the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil exports — must be met first. Iran rejects Western concerns that its nuclear program is military in nature. In late September, Iran presented another seven-day proposal under which Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy shipping channels, could be reopened if certain conditions were met. US President Donald Trump rejected it, prompting further Qatari mediation. The draft discussed in Tehran on Sunday was different from that proposal, the official briefed on the negotiations said, though the details of the latest plan were not immediately clear. The official had previously told Reuters that the Qatari mediators had coordinated with Washington before going to Tehran. Earlier mediation efforts to end the war that the US and Israel launched on February 28 helped produce an interim peace agreement in June, but it quickly unraveled recent weeks, Yemen’s Houthi forces have launched repeated attacks against Saudi Arabia — a key US ally and the world’s largest crude exporter — opening a new front in the eight-month-old war. Fighting with the Houthis intensified last month as the group advanced against Saudi-backed forces towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another important shipping lane on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula from Hormuz. The official briefed on the negotiations said there were concerns ahead of Sunday’s meeting in Tehran that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fighting for another term in a general election, could resume attacks on the Islamic republic this week. Jordan, Iran discuss efforts to reach sustainable ceasefire between US, Tehran Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi discussed efforts to reach a “sustainable ceasefire agreement” between the United States and Iran during a phone call late on Tuesday, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.During the call, which Safadi received from Araghchi, the discussions focused on “efforts to halt escalation and reach a comprehensive solution to the crisis” between Iran and the US, along with an agreement for a “sustainable ceasefire,” according to the ministry.Safadi stressed “the importance of joining efforts to restore calm and achieve lasting security and stability on foundations that ensure the security and stability of all countries in the region.”He also underscored the need to “respect international law and the principles of good neighbourliness, refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of states, and ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”Omani FM warns US, Israel against attacks on IranOmani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in an interview to IRNA that US and Israel should leave Iran alone, saying that the path of destruction and war is not what people want, instead, the focus should be on finding a “peaceful and just solution” to the Palestinian issue.
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