New Delhi: The US president, Donald Trump, spoke with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, on Friday to discuss diplomatic efforts to ease tensions with Iran. The call came as the US vice-president, JD Vance, led a diplomatic push to revive ceasefire negotiations and restart nuclear talks with Tehran, even as US forces continued military operations against Iranian targets.
According to a statement from Qatar, the two leaders discussed regional developments and international efforts to bridge differences between the US and Iran. Tamim stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy to prevent further escalation and protect maritime navigation and energy supplies.
While negotiations with Iran were under way, reports emerged on Friday that two missiles had struck Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, with no damage noted so far. Trump later confirmed a US strike on an Iranian anti-aircraft missile launcher on the island, saying it had fired a missile towards a US fighter jet, which prompted the American military response.
Trump said negotiations with Iran were making progress. Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said, “We made a lot of progress with Iran.” He also said, “It’s not a war,” while reiterating that Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons.
JD Vance leads quiet diplomatic push for new US-Iran deal
Vance has been leading a fresh push to secure a deal with Tehran. He has spent the past two weeks involved in high-level indirect talks aimed at reaching a new ceasefire and restarting nuclear negotiations, Axios reported.
Vance has been speaking almost daily with Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, the Pakistani army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and other mediators. The White House envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s adviser, Jared Kushner, are also involved in the discussions.
The diplomatic initiative has included a proposal to resume direct negotiations. Axios reported that Vance sent a letter to the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, about restarting talks. Iranian officials viewed the letter as a positive step towards negotiations, according to the report.
Vance led the US negotiating team at the April summit in Islamabad. He was also involved in discussions that produced a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in June. But the understanding collapsed after both sides renewed strikes.
On Friday evening, Sheikh Mohammed said mediation efforts were continuing and that Washington remained interested in a diplomatic settlement despite the US midterm elections. He said significant progress had been made and expressed confidence that an agreement could be reached. “We cannot wait to reach a perfect agreement; we hope to reach a good agreement,” he said, Reuters reported.
On Saturday, Qatar’s International Media Office also rejected reports claiming that the US and Iran had failed to reach an agreement. It described the reports as “false and misleading” and said both sides were continuing to work towards a deal, with Qatari mediators maintaining close coordination with Washington and Tehran.