Iran weighs Qatari bridge proposal that could open nuclear talks with US

Tehran ties any negotiations to US concessions, officials say

Iran is reviewing proposals presented by chief mediator Qatar that aim to address differences with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program, two Middle East government officials said Friday. The movement has raised hopes that the two sides could be inching toward indirect talks on one of the thorniest issues that President Donald Trump says must be resolved as part of any deal meant to end the more than 8-month-old war.

But one of the officials stressed that the Iranians, at least at the moment, remain unwilling to engage in negotiations with the Trump administration over its atomic activities until the U.S. agrees to several core conditions that Iran has demanded be part of any ceasefire agreement. Both officials were not authorized to comment publicly on the delicate negotiations and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Among the demands Iran says must be met before it engages in nuclear talks: ending the U.S. blockade on Iran’s ports, lifting sanctions, unfreezing its assets, issuing compensation for war damage, and ending hostilities throughout the region, including Israeli operations in Lebanon. Trump has declined such concessions in the past.

The proposals under review include a potential bridge deal, presented recently to the two sides by Qatari mediators, that officials described as a way to help pave the way for further talks on Tehran’s nuclear program. According to regional officials, it calls for implementing trust-building measures over the course of two days, beginning with lifting the U.S. blockade and releasing some of the billions of dollars in Iranian frozen funds seized over the years as part of the U.S. campaign to isolate Iran over its nuclear program. In return, Tehran would allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors at its sites bombed by the U.S. and Israel, the officials said.

On the second day, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in line with a modified agreement that Iran and Oman have reached on the waterway but that the United States has not approved, the officials said. That mechanism would be temporary until a permanent deal on the strait is reached in cooperation with other Gulf countries.

Once the measures were implemented, the U.S. and Iran would embark on extensive talks addressing Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium as well as other aspects of its program, the officials said. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran holds 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity — a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

The White House declined to comment on the Qatari-presented proposals. Trump, speaking with reporters on Friday, noted that mediators’ discussions with Iran continue. “We are talking to Iran. We have been,” Trump said. The president insists the U.S. military remains in control of the conflict with a battered Iran.

The stepped-up engagement between Iranian and Qatari officials — and Tehran’s show of openness to the possibility of negotiating over its nuclear program — comes just days after Tuesday’s midterm elections, in which Trump’s Republican Party lost both chambers of Congress. The electoral setback was stoked in part by voter dissatisfaction with Trump’s execution of the conflict and elevated fuel prices, a byproduct of the war that has affected nearly every sector of the global economy.

Concerns have mounted over the possibility that Trump could still order the U.S. military to carry out new strikes against Iran. A flurry of diplomatic phone calls in recent days between leaders in the Persian Gulf and beyond has been aimed at easing tensions in the region.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke on Friday with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, about developments, according to the Qatari government. The Qatari government announced the call between the countries’ defense officials after confirming earlier Friday that Trump and Qatar’s emir had a separate call to discuss efforts to de-escalate tensions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also held phone calls on Friday with his Iraqi and Tunisian counterparts to discuss tensions in the region. Araghchi discussed Tehran’s vision for resuming negotiations with the U.S. with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, according to Iraq’s News Agency.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who held two calls with Araghchi this week, said in a post on X on Friday that it was critical that both sides demonstrate “flexibility” to achieve the “compromise solutions” necessary to prevent the region from sliding into a new wave of escalation. Abdelatty also held a phone call with his Emirati counterpart, Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to emphasize the importance of political negotiations to prevent another military confrontation that could fuel violence and destruction, according to a statement by Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.