Qatari mediators return to Tehran to push for US-Iran deal

Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday to push for a deal to end the war between Iran and the United States, according to IRNA, Reuters and AFP. An official told Reuters that the talks have been coordinated with the US.

The Qatari delegation is led by a senior adviser to Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister. It is scheduled to meet senior Iranian officials, with discussions focusing on bilateral relations and regional developments.

An official briefed on the diplomacy confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday that Qatari mediators had presented Iran with a new draft deal to end the war. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Qatar's ideas were unacceptable and that Tehran would not change its stance on the nuclear issue.

The two sides remain apart on sequencing. Washington wants the nuclear issue included in negotiations from the start. Tehran wants the US first to lift its blockade of Iranian ports and drop sanctions limiting Iran's gas and oil sales.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran continues to give diplomacy a chance and is working with mediators on ideas from a proposal floated last month. President Trump rejected that proposal, which Iran still wants used as the basis for a new ceasefire agreement.

Iranian media reported that Iran has not responded to a letter sent by Vice President JD Vance to Mohsen Rezaei, a senior figure in the Iranian system. Trump acknowledged high-level contact but denied that the outreach aims to revive wider peace talks, saying it is only about getting medical aid into Iran. He has kept his threat to resume major strikes.

In the Strait of Hormuz, a British navy monitor reported that a tanker was struck on Thursday evening by a projectile. UKMTO said there were no reported injuries to the crew or environmental impact at this time. Iran said four ships trying to transit the strait via US-promoted shipping lanes, which Tehran deems illegal, had struck sea mines.

The US Department of Defense added two more service member deaths to its count, bringing the total in the Iran war to 23. Eleven were killed by enemy fire and 12 died in nonhostile circumstances. Separately, the Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed a Houthi drone in the Mecca region, while the Houthis denied any attempt to strike Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.