Iran has rejected a Qatari draft deal to end its war with the United States and Israel, calling the proposal unacceptable. The Qatari draft deal was presented by mediators in Doha, but a senior Iranian official said it did not amount to a real offer.
An official briefed on the negotiations, who is not from Iran, said the draft peace proposal was presented on Sunday and is now being considered in Tehran. That official said a response is expected by the end of the week.
The proposal sets out a seven-day timeline. It lays out daily confidence-building steps that each side must take, and it addresses concerns from both Tehran and Washington. Several countries would act as guarantors of the deal, the official said. The timeline could begin early next week.
Shortly after that account emerged, a senior Iranian official involved in the talks gave a different reading. The official said Qatar had presented only unacceptable ideas, not an offer. The official added that Tehran’s policy on the nuclear issue has not changed, and Iran will show no flexibility on it.
Why the Qatari draft deal has stalled
The gap between the two sides centres on what must come first. Washington wants Iran’s nuclear programme to form part of negotiations to end the war from the outset. Iran says its own conditions must be met first.
Those conditions include an end to the United States blockade of Iranian ports and the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil exports. Iran rejects Western concerns that its nuclear programme is military in nature.
Qatar has led mediation to end the war, along with Pakistan. The conflict is now eight months old. It has disrupted global shipping and oil supplies, and it has recently spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Pakistan’s role matters for readers at home. Islamabad has kept channels open to Tehran while also working closely with Gulf partners, and it has pushed for a negotiated end to the fighting. That mediation work links directly to the Hormuz question, which affects oil supplies and prices in Pakistan. Read our earlier report on that strand here: Iran Hormuz Offer Hinges on End to US Naval Blockade.
The cost of the war keeps rising for the United States as well. The Pentagon has put the bill above $47 billion, as reported here: US Iran War Cost Passes $47bn, Pentagon Says. The political backdrop has also shifted in Israel, where the latest count left the Netanyahu bloc short of a majority, covered here: Netanyahu Bloc Leads Israel Count but Short of Majority. For Pakistan, the war has already fed through to fuel markets, and a brief resumption of Iranian supply cut LPG prices, as reported here: LPG Prices Drop Rs40 as Iran Supply Resumes Briefly.
What happens next
Tehran is expected to give its formal response by the end of the week. If it rejects the draft outright, mediators will need a revised text. If it engages, the seven-day timeline could start early next week.
For now, the two accounts of the same proposal show how far apart the sides remain. One side describes a draft under active consideration. The other describes ideas that do not qualify as an offer at all.
That gap will decide whether the Qatari effort moves forward or stalls like earlier rounds.
What does the Qatari proposal contain?
It contains a seven-day timeline of daily confidence-building steps for both sides, with several countries acting as guarantors. The timeline could begin early next week if Tehran engages.
Why does Iran call it unacceptable?
A senior Iranian official said Doha presented unacceptable ideas rather than an offer, and that Tehran’s policy on the nuclear issue remains unchanged.
What does Iran want first?
Iran wants an end to the United States blockade of its ports and the lifting of sanctions on its oil exports before the nuclear programme enters the talks.
