Iran denies Qatari peace offer, holds firm on nuclear issue

A senior Iranian official said on Wednesday that Qatar has not given Tehran a new proposal to end hostilities. The official said Doha offered only ideas Iran considers unacceptable, and that Tehran's policy of showing no flexibility on the nuclear issue remains in place, according to Reuters reporting carried by FXStreet.fxstreet.com

The denial came hours after another account of the talks said a draft deal was on the table. That gap shows how far apart the two sides remain in efforts to end the eight-month war between Iran, the United States and Israel.

Two accounts of the Qatari draft

Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters quoted an official briefed on the negotiations, who is not Iranian. That official said Qatari mediators gave Iran a new draft peace deal on Sunday, October 25, and that Tehran was expected to reply by the end of the week, AsiaOne reported. The draft sets out a seven-day timeline, possibly starting early next week, in which each side would take confidence-building steps every day. Several unnamed countries would act as guarantors, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.asiaone.com+1

The senior Iranian official, who is involved in the talks, rejected that description. He said Qatar had presented "unacceptable ideas and not an offer," AsiaOne reported. In other accounts of the same remarks, the official said "the only thing we received is a list of unacceptable ideas" and "we will not compromise on the nuclear issue," JFeed reported.jfeed.com+1

Nuclear program remains the sticking point

Washington wants Iran's nuclear program included in talks from the start. Tehran says its own conditions must be met first, including an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports and the lifting of sanctions on its oil exports, according to AsiaOne. US Vice President JD Vance said this month that Iran must reduce uranium enrichment to end the war, Middle East Eye reported. On Tuesday, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Iran would not hand over enriched uranium under any agreement with the United States, according to Ground News.middleeasteye.net+2

Mediation under pressure

On Tuesday, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari urged Iran to "show goodwill" by stopping threats against countries in the region and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Euronews reported. When asked about a new proposal, he said only that messages and ideas were still being passed to both sides.euronews.com

Fears of renewed fighting are growing. US President Donald Trump threatened more strikes on Iran on October 23. Iranian security officials told Reuters that Tehran has drawn up plans to attack undersea cables in the Gulf if US and Israeli strikes resume, according to RFE/RL. Oil prices edged higher after the Iranian official's comments, FXStreet reported.rferl.org+1