Qatar to shuttle between US and Iranian officials this week in fresh push to end war

Qatari mediators are set to hold separate meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and with American officials on Monday or Tuesday, according to an official briefed on the negotiations, marking a renewed diplomatic push to end the ongoing war between the United States and Iran.

The talks will center on a revised version of a seven day proposal Iran put forward last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, according to officials familiar with the discussions. Araghchi has remained in New York following the assembly specifically for these discussions, though it was not immediately clear which officials would represent the American side. Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency later confirmed Araghchi would meet with the Qatari mediators in the United States on Monday morning, New York time, with the two sides expected to examine the latest proposals and positions on the current situation.

Iran’s original seven day plan calls for ending all hostilities in both Iran and Lebanon, unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets currently held abroad, lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping. In exchange, the proposal envisions Tehran and Washington resuming talks over Iran’s nuclear program.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had already rejected Iran’s proposal, arguing that Tehran was seeking a fast agreement because of what he described as crippling economic pressure the country is currently under. Even so, he told Axios on Sunday that he still expected American negotiators to take part in further discussions this week, suggesting Washington has not closed the door on continued contact despite rejecting the specific terms Iran presented.

Araghchi pushed back on the idea that talks had already collapsed, saying Sunday that mediators had not formally communicated any American rejection directly to Tehran, and that Iran is still waiting for what he called Washington’s definitive position before deciding on its next steps. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told state media Monday that Araghchi’s stay in New York had not been extended and that he would return to Tehran on his originally planned schedule, declining to comment further on the mediator talks themselves.

The renewed diplomatic activity comes as economic pressure inside Iran continues mounting. The Iranian rial fell to another record low this week, with the dollar trading at roughly 2.45 million rials, as sustained economic and military pressure weighs on the country alongside the continuing war. Iran retains what analysts have described as significant leverage in these negotiations through its position along the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint whose disruption has already driven global oil prices higher and squeezed fuel costs in the United States and beyond throughout the conflict.

Qatar has played a central mediating role between Washington and Tehran since diplomatic contact between the two governments broke down amid the war, continuing a pattern of Gulf states stepping into intermediary roles as direct US Iran channels remain closed. With Araghchi’s meetings scheduled for the coming days and Trump signaling continued American willingness to negotiate despite rejecting Iran’s current terms, this week’s talks are likely to serve as an early test of whether the amended proposal can narrow the gap between the two sides, or whether the war, now well into its seventh month, continues without a clear diplomatic breakthrough in sight.