Gulf states brace for the worst as they await US reply to Iran's Hormuz proposal
Indirect talks in Doha have entered a third day, with Qatar trying to broker the release of Iranian assets and the reopening of the strait of Hormuz. Gulf officials say they are preparing for the worst while waiting for Washington's response.
Gulf state officials say they are “braced for the worst” as they wait for the US response to an Iranian proposal that could reopen the strait of Hormuz before the US midterm elections on Tuesday. Indirect talks in Doha, Qatar, ran into a third day on Sunday. Qatar is trying to secure the release of more than $6bn in Iranian assets, which could lead to the strait reopening and a restart of negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme. The backdrop is a war started by the US and Israel in February.
A compressed timetable
To overcome mistrust on both sides, Qatar is working on a plan to shorten the sequence in which the US lifts sanctions, Iran reopens the strait and nuclear talks begin. Iran has agreed to cut the timetable from seven days to two. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told Al Jazeera that Tehran offered to open the strait within two days of the US lifting its blockade on oil ships, ceasing to block the release of Iranian assets and ending sanctions on Iranian oil exports. He said he hoped Washington would choose “diplomacy over other paths” and that no direct talks with the US were currently planned. Araghchi is not attending the Doha mediation, but other Iranian diplomats are heavily involved.
United Arab Emirates envoy Anwar Gargash said further escalation was in the interest of neither Iran nor its neighbours, but that the Gulf states are prepared for the worst. He stressed that relations with Iran are essential because it is a neighbour.
Qatar's mediation continued even after unidentified missiles hit a Pakistan-bound Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker near the strait on Friday, just hours after the ship had received safe-passage clearance from Tehran.
Statements from the sides
Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US had knocked out much of Iran's military but still had to “take care of” one or two targets. He described talks as “going fine” but said Iran was not very reliable. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Washington was open to a diplomatic solution. Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said he had received a letter from US vice-president JD Vance seeking to revive talks, noting a more positive “tone” but saying he had not yet replied. Ali Nikzad, deputy speaker of Iran's parliament, repeated that Iran will not negotiate on its nuclear programme.
