Iranian negotiators are expected to hold talks in Qatar on Saturday, October 31, as Gulf mediators step up efforts to broker a deal between Tehran and Washington, a day after a Qatari delegation travelled to the Iranian capital in coordination with the United States.
The development was highlighted by the news aggregator BRICS News, which reported on X early on October 31, 2026, Malaysia time, that Iranian negotiators would hold talks in Qatar on Saturday for a potential US deal. Several accounts on X attributed the report to the US news site Axios, saying the Qatari negotiators had returned to Doha after their talks in Tehran and that Iranian negotiators were expected to follow. LNA was unable to independently access the original Axios report, and there was no immediate official confirmation of the meeting from Tehran, Doha or Washington.
A Qatari delegation, headed by a senior adviser to Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, arrived in Tehran on Friday morning for talks and consultations, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported, according to Al Jazeera. An official briefed on the talks told Reuters that the mediation had been coordinated with the United States.
Divided over sequencing
The two sides remain divided over the order of steps needed for an agreement. According to Reuters, Washington wants nuclear issues included from the start of negotiations, while Tehran demands that the US first end its blockade of Iranian ports and lift sanctions on its oil exports.
Qatar presented Iran with a draft peace plan on Sunday, Reuters reported, citing an official briefed on the negotiations. The draft sets out a seven-day timeline requiring each side to take daily confidence-building steps, with several unnamed countries acting as guarantors. A senior Iranian official later dismissed the proposals as unacceptable and said Tehran would maintain its nuclear position. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Tehran remained in close contact with intermediaries to review ideas for implementing its own seven-day proposal to end the war.
Vance letter to Rezaei
The mediation follows a letter from US Vice President JD Vance to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The Washington Post reported that Vance had offered to meet Rezaei to discuss ending the war, and that Istanbul or Doha could host such a meeting if the two sides agreed to direct talks. Sources told Al Jazeera that a meeting could possibly be held within a week, in either Doha or Istanbul.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Tehran said there had been no official Iranian reaction to the letter, but that sources described its tone as much more respectful than previous US correspondence. US President Donald Trump said the outreach concerned medical supplies, Reuters reported, while other reports said the letter also sought to revive negotiations.
Shadow of renewed strikes
The diplomatic push comes amid conflicting signals from Washington. The Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press have reported that US officials told Gulf and other regional allies to prepare for a possible short, intense military campaign against Iran after the US midterm elections on November 3, although Trump has not made a final decision. Speaking at a Fox News town hall in Texas on Thursday, Vance said Trump was “not going to let Iran become a forever war”, Iran International reported.
Whether the expected talks in Qatar take place as reported, and whether they can narrow the gap between the two sides before the election deadline, remains to be seen.
Source : BRICS NEWS, with reporting from Reuters, Al Jazeera, IRNA, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, the Associated Press and Iran International.
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