Iran rejects Qatari draft deal, calls proposals unacceptable

Qatari mediators presented Iran with a new draft deal to end the eight-month war with the United States and Israel on Sunday, according to an official briefed on the negotiations who is not from Iran. Tehran is considering the proposal, and a response is expected by the end of the week.

The Qatari draft sets a seven-day timeline covering Tehran’s and Washington’s concerns, with daily confidence-building steps each side must take. Several countries would act as guarantors, and the timeline could begin early next week.

“Qatar had presented only unacceptable ideas and not an offer”

A senior Iranian official involved in the talks said shortly afterward that Doha had presented only unacceptable ideas and not an offer. Tehran’s policy of showing no flexibility on the nuclear issue remains unchanged.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday that Iran stays in close contact with intermediaries to review ideas that could implement Iran’s own seven-day proposal for ending the war in the Middle East. He said Tehran continues to give diplomacy a chance and that its seven-day plan could be put into effect in less than a week.

Washington wants Iran’s decades-long nuclear programme included in negotiations from the outset. Iran says its conditions, including ending the US blockade of Iranian ports and lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports, must be met first. Iran rejects Western concerns that its nuclear programme is military in nature.

In late September, Araqchi said the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened if certain conditions were met under Iran’s seven-day proposal.