US and Iran review draft proposal to end war, Qatar says - The Express Tribune
The United States and Iran are committed to mediation efforts and are reviewing proposals aimed at bridging their differences, Qatar said on Tuesday.
"Both parties remain committed to the negotiation process; as we mentioned, we are facilitating the real-time exchange of proposals between them,β foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told reporters, according to Reuters and Al-Arabiya.
π΄ Qatar says it remains hopeful that a deal could be reached between the United States and Iran as both sides review proposals put forward by mediators including Doha π΄ βBoth parties remain committed to the negotiation process; as we mentioned, we are facilitating theβ¦ pic.twitter.com/7bNfbYNxXD
"We remain hopeful that there is still a chance for a deal to set the environment for future negotiations", he said.
Qatar said that both the United States and Iran remained committed to mediation efforts and were reviewing proposals put forward by mediators. While the Qatari team that travelled to Tehran had since returned to Doha, talks were continuing, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said.
Three oil tankers struck mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday after entering unauthorised shipping lanes with their navigation and identification systems switched off, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy as saying.
The vessels were left burning off the southern coast of the strait, the IRGC Navy said, warning ships against ignoring Iranian regulations and cooperating with the US military to transit unauthorised routes.
Iran and the United States remain far from a deal to end the war, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday, despite intensified diplomatic efforts to avert a return to major conflict after the US midterm elections.
Overnight, the US carried out "defensive" strikes on Iran's Qeshm island, with a US official saying the strikes targeted surface-to-air missiles used against US assets. Another official said the strikes appeared to be limited and did not signal a resumption of major combat operations.
"Mediators are working hard to narrow gaps between Tehran and Washington," the senior Iranian official said, after Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran on Monday night for talks on a version of a draft US-Iran deal that has been under negotiation for the past eight days.
"Tehran's conditions must be met if the US wants Hormuz reopened," the Iranian official cautioned, referring to the waterway critical for global energy supplies.
The Iranian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said nuclear talks could only start after Iran's conditions were fulfilled and that Tehran would not accept Washington's "excessive demands".
Tehran would respond forcefully, in the region and beyond, to US strikes, the official added.
Oil prices rose by about $1 on Tuesday, having dropped more than 7% the previous day on hopes diplomacy was progressing.
Additionally, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they downed a US MQ-9 drone and two Lucas drones in the skies near the Strait of Hormuz.
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