Qatari mediators have arrived in Tehran in an apparent bid to negotiate a revival of a ceasefire in the conflict between the United States and Iran.
A Qatari delegation, in coordination with US officials and headed by the senior adviser to the Gulf nation’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, arrived in the Iranian capital on Friday morning for talks and consultations, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.
This latest diplomatic push comes amid conflicting signals from Washington. A letter from US Vice President JD Vance to Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei, delivered on Sunday, has reportedly been well received.
However, US President Donald Trump has warned Gulf allies to prepare themselves for a brief high-intensity military campaign after next week’s US midterm elections , according to The Wall Street Journal.
A Qatari delegation delivered the letter from Vance, which reportedly proposed a new diplomatic process to Iran in a bid to stave off a new round of US strikes.
The newspaper quoted an informed source as saying the letter and follow-up discussions did not cover specific peace terms, but rather a potential “framework for negotiations”.
Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, said that while there was no official reaction from Tehran, sources said the tone of the letter was much more respectful than previous correspondence from the US administration, which was welcomed by Iranian authorities.
Serdar said the Qatari delegation was thought to have travelled to receive Iran’s response, and to elaborate on a potential new diplomatic path.
Sources told Al Jazeera that a meeting could possibly be held within a week, either in Doha or Istanbul.
