Iranian negotiators met Qatari mediators in Doha as diplomats try to head off renewed fighting after the US midterm elections. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says President Donald Trump has not decided on new strikes, while Iran's Supreme Leader ordered the armed forces to prepare to respond.
Iranian negotiators held talks in Doha with Qatari mediators on Saturday to discuss paths out of the war in the Gulf, a source told Reuters. Diplomats are trying to avert a new outbreak of fighting after the US midterm elections this week.
Rubio said Trump has not yet decided whether to launch new strikes against Iran. Trump has held off on strikes in recent weeks ahead of the elections, in which his Republicans are trying to retain control of Congress.
Talks run in parallel with Washington
Saturday's session followed more than 12 hours of discussions between Iranian and Qatari envoys in Tehran on Friday. The source said the talks were coordinated in regular contacts with Washington.
Qatar brought Tehran a seven-day plan a week ago, under which the US and Iran would take daily steps to build trust ahead of broader peace talks. However, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Friday that Tehran did not deem the proposal satisfactory.
Iran has its own seven-day plan, proposed since September and so far rejected by Trump. It calls on Washington to lift a blockade of Iranian ports, unfreeze assets and approve an Iranian-backed route through the Strait of Hormuz, after which the contested strait would be reopened.
Tehran orders readiness
Countries in the region anticipate that Trump could restart attacks once voting ends. Iran has repeatedly said it would respond to any new attacks by striking US and Israeli targets in neighbouring countries.
On Saturday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the armed forces to be prepared to respond to any attacks. In a statement on his official Telegram account, he said any threat must be met with an "immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response".
The Iranian military later announced it was taking steps to improve its readiness. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, in remarks reported by Al Jazeera, that Iran was studying a letter from Vice President JD Vance and that the Iranian plan was the only proposal on the table to reopen the strait.
Source: Reuters via Investing.com
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