Iran sees only unacceptable ideas in latest mediation to end war, official says

Qatari mediators have presented Iran with a new draft deal to end the war with the US, an official briefed on the negotiations says, but a senior Iranian official says Doha only put forward unacceptable ideas that did not amount to an offer.

The official briefed on the negotiations, who is not from Iran, says a new draft peace proposal for the eight-month-old conflict was presented on Sunday and was being considered by Tehran, with a response expected by the end of the week.

Qatar, along with Pakistan, has led mediation to end the war, which has disrupted global shipping and oil supplies and recently spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The proposal presented by Qatar sets a seven-day timeline addressing both Tehran’s and Washington’s concerns, laying out daily confidence-building steps that each side must take, the official briefed on the negotiations says. The timeline could begin early next week and several countries would act as guarantors of the deal, the official adds.

Shortly afterwards, a senior Iranian official involved in the talks says Qatar had presented only “unacceptable ideas and not an offer,” and that Tehran’s policy on showing no flexibility over the nuclear issue remained unchanged.