Iran 'welcomes negotiations' after reported Qatari-mediated draft deal

Iran welcomes “any effort aimed at negotiations”, an official said on Wednesday, after Qatari mediators reportedly presented Tehran with a new draft deal that would help to end the conflict with the US.

The agreement was presented to Iran on Sunday, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters. They added that Tehran was considering it and was expected ​to respond by the end of the week.

The draft deal sets a seven-day timeline that addresses both Tehran's and Washington's concerns, laying out daily confidence-building steps each side must take, the official said. The timeline could begin early next week, with several countries acting as guarantors of the deal.

Iran did not immediately comment publicly on the draft. However, an Iranian official told The National that his country “welcomes any efforts aimed at negotiations, talks or collective consultation”.

The report follows a visit to Tehran by officials from the Makkah pact countries – Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey – who flew to Iran as part of a push for diplomacy and to chart a path towards resolving conflicts in the region.

The delegation was led by Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, signalling Saudi urgency amid escalating attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels against the kingdom's airports and fears of a new round of war between the US and Iran.

Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Ibrahim Kalin, director of Turkey’s intelligence service, also attended Monday’s meeting in Tehran, which ended with Iranian state media saying the parties agreed to continue discussions. Regional sources briefed on the talks said they made no clear headway.

Sources had told The National that representatives of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey asked the Iranians to urge the Houthis to halt their attacks on the kingdom. Iran claimed it lacked leverage over its Yemeni allies to do so, explained the sources.

Show caption: Officials from the Makkah pact countries flew to Iran as par…

Instead, the Iranians asked their guests to use their close relations with the US to persuade Washington to accept Iran’s offer of a two-week pause in hostilities across the region, the sources added. The pause would allow negotiations to resume in return for the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

On Wednesday, the Iranian official said that despite the limited outcome of the visit, the talks were “a step in the right direction”. They added that “this is a first confidence-building step between these countries” and “we see it as necessary to have a security framework that tries to keep things under control in the region”.

Two of the main items discussed were the Houthi escalation and the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military said on Wednesday that vessels that have no need to move between ports in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz should stay away, as tensions ratchet up in the region.

“Due to the current geopolitical situation, vessels which do not need to transit the area are advised to remain well clear to avoid unnecessary delays to their voyage,” the US Naval Forces Central Command said in an advisory notice.

“Vessels transiting this area are advised to plan additional transit time to allow for increased traffic density and military blockade enforcement operations,” the notice said.

It was unclear what prompted the advisory. The US military last publicly issued a similar notice in mid-July, when it began its blockade of Iranian shipping. Back then, it said the blockade would not impede neutral passage through Hormuz, though ships should expect to be questioned on their intentions.

In Yemen, the Houthis called for ​the immediate evacuation of the airport in Aden, ⁠the city where the internationally recognised government is ⁠based.