Iranian officials arrive Qatar for talks on US peace deal

Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati have arrived in Qatar for high-level discussions with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani over a possible agreement with the United States aimed at ending the three-month Middle East conflict and securing the release of Iran’s frozen assets.

The visit marks the first major diplomatic mission by senior Iranian officials to the Gulf region since the outbreak of the war, during which Tehran launched thousands of drones and missiles across the region, including toward Qatar.

The development is also seen as a sign of Qatar’s growing influence in the ongoing negotiations, which had largely been facilitated by Pakistan in recent months.

Speaking earlier in New Delhi, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was prepared to continue diplomatic efforts with Tehran before considering alternative measures.

Rubio stated that a significant proposal was already under discussion concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and fresh negotiations surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme.

“There is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the Strait of Hormuz, get the strait open, enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter, and hopefully we can pull it off,” Rubio told reporters.

United States President Donald Trump also confirmed ongoing talks with Tehran in a lengthy post shared on Truth Social, while warning that military action remained possible if diplomacy collapsed.

“It will only be a great deal for all, or no deal at all,” Trump wrote.

A source familiar with the discussions said Ghalibaf and Araghchi arrived in Doha for talks focused on diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

According to the source, the negotiations centered on issues involving the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and the possible release of frozen Iranian assets.

“The Central Bank governor is part of the delegation to discuss the issue of frozen funds, which is addressed in the MoU as part of an eventual final deal,” the source said.

Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, described the trip as part of an ongoing diplomatic process and confirmed that the Iranian delegation would meet with the Qatari prime minister.

The agency stated that the visit was intended to assess Washington’s seriousness before Tehran formally agrees to any ceasefire arrangement.

“It appears that some American commitments under this agreement will be implemented with Doha’s assistance,” IRNA reported.

The report added that Tehran also wanted to determine Qatar’s readiness to support commitments expected from the United States under any future agreement.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said some progress had been achieved in the negotiations with Washington through Pakistan’s mediation efforts.

However, he cautioned that discussions were still ongoing and that no final agreement had yet been reached.

Meanwhile, Trump has reportedly urged countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey to join the Abraham Accords as part of a broader regional agreement involving Iran and Israel.

“After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords,” Trump wrote on social media.