Iran Sends Nuclear Proposal to US via Qatar, But Talks Hinge on Seven Demands
Photo: Reuters via Al Jazeera
Iran has sent the United States a nuclear proposal through Qatar, but the paper will sit unread until Washington meets seven demands first. Tehran says no talks, and no reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, until those conditions are met. Washington says it is reviewing the proposal, and insists the nuclear issue must be part of any first round of talks.
The news came from a senior Iranian official who spoke to Reuters on Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity and gave no details of what is actually in the proposal, only that the Americans now have it and are looking it over.
It is the first time Tehran has put a written nuclear offer on the table through the Qatari channel, and it lands at a tense moment. President Donald Trump warned this week that the United States may have to destroy what is left of Iran, and on Tuesday he refused to rule out a return to fighting after the midterm elections. Iran, for its part, is planning wider retaliation if the war starts again.
Tehran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, spelled out the price of talks during a visit to Moscow this week, where he met President Vladimir Putin for three hours. "On the issue of diplomacy, we have announced seven conditions to the Americans. As long as they do not execute our seven conditions, we will neither open the Strait of Hormuz nor have negotiations," he said.
The seven conditions, as reported by NDTV from a Khaleej Times report, are:
- A complete end to hostilities, including the fighting in Lebanon
- Lifting the American naval blockade on Iranian ports
- Lifting sanctions on Iran
- Release of Iran's frozen funds held abroad
- A cut in the American military presence in the region
- Payment for war damage
- An end to American attacks on Iranian soil
The shape of the plan was first laid out by Tehran at the United Nations last week. The United States would free frozen funds, lift sanctions and end its naval blockade within four or five days. The strait would then reopen, and talks on a final deal, including the nuclear programme, would start by day seven. Trump called that version unacceptable, but the mediation has carried on, and the written proposal is now in Washington's hands.
Qatar has been working the phones hard. It has held two rounds of talks in Tehran and hosted a third in Doha, and its envoys have also met Iranian officials in Armenia. A spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry said both sides were still studying the proposals and struck a careful note of hope. "As long as the parties remain committed, there is always a glimmer of hope," he said. On Friday, Trump spoke by phone with Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, about de-escalation. The emir stressed the need for continued dialogue and diplomatic solutions to spare the region further escalation.
A draft doing the rounds in the region sketches a two day confidence building plan. On day one, the United States would lift the naval blockade and release some frozen funds, and Iran would invite inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit its bombed nuclear sites. On day two, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen, and nuclear talks would follow, focused on Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed the draft in phone calls on Thursday with his counterparts in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Emirates, Oman, Egypt and Pakistan.
There is movement on the American side too. Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Rezaei last month proposing direct peace talks, and on Monday he said progress had been made. "The president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement," Vance said. Rezaei called the letter "calm and reasonable". Vance has also blamed the Iran war for the Republicans' heavy losses in this week's midterm elections, a rare public split from Trump.
The New York Times reported that Iran has been studying a set of concrete proposals from mediators about the future of its nuclear programme, raising hopes of a breakthrough. Five officials briefed on the talks, including an American and two Iranians, said Tehran was examining the ideas, though no final decision has been reported.
Inside Iran, the debate is heating up. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that a growing number of clerics and officials are pressing the leadership to rethink its long standing pledge not to build nuclear weapons. The late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a religious decree against nuclear weapons, but American and Israeli intelligence agencies say Iran has enriched uranium past the levels needed for peaceful use. Trump calls the programme a weapons drive. Tehran says it is peaceful.
For now, the two sides are still talking past each other on the order of events. Washington wants nuclear issues on the table from the very first meeting. Tehran wants sanctions lifted, money freed and the blockade ended before it discusses a single centrifuge. And the strait itself gave a fresh warning on Friday, when the Revolutionary Guards said two oil tankers caught fire after striking mines while trying to pass through on unauthorised routes. The Guards said the waterway stays shut and "no changes will be made until the seven conditions are met". Iran's army spokesman, Mohammad Akraminia, warned that if Iran is attacked again, it will hit all American assets "without regard to geographical restrictions".
The stakes are high on both sides. The United States and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, and Iran hit back with strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host American bases. Fighting has also spread to Lebanon and Yemen. American and Israeli generals have drawn up a list of targets, including energy sites vital to Iran's economy, and satellite images show Iran rebuilding missile bases hit in the earlier strikes. A ceasefire agreed in June collapsed within weeks, and the months since have been a tense stand off of clashes and threats.
What this means in plain terms is simple. Iran has made its first written move, but it has tied that move to conditions Washington has so far refused to meet before talks. Qatar keeps the two sides talking, and both say they want a deal, yet each wants the other to move first. Oil traders are watching every word. Brent crude stood near $100 a barrel on Friday, up on the day but set for a 12 percent fall this week on hopes that the war may be winding down. For Pakistan and the wider region, the difference between a deal and another round of war is oil prices, shipping through Hormuz and the safety of millions of workers in the Gulf.
Read our earlier coverage: Iran exempts ships from four countries from Hormuz restrictions, Putin vows to help end Iran war as Khamenei sends message to Moscow, Trump warns US may have to destroy rest of Iran as decision nears and Iraq tells Trump it will not be a launch pad for attacks on Iran.
Sources
Qatar's mediators now wait for Washington's answer, and the next move belongs to Trump.
#Iran #NuclearProposal #Qatar #USA #MiddleEast #BreakingNews #PakistanNews
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