Iran Rejects Proposed Three-Way Doha Talks as Qatar Mediators Continue Parallel Negotiations

Negotiations involving Iran and the United States continued despite an exchange of fire, with officials holding parallel talks in Doha with Qatari mediators over the past two days. According to Odaily, a regional source said Iranian and U.S. officials met separately with Qatari intermediaries, and Qatar attempted to arrange a three-way meeting to address remaining differences directly, but Iran rejected the proposal. Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran on Wednesday to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi and other Iranian officials in an effort to restart momentum in the talks. Two U.S. officials said they hoped Tuesday’s strike would prompt Iran to act and respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal, adding that Trump’s threats were part of the same pressure strategy. One U.S. official said an agreement remained available, but warned that if Iran continued to delay and respond negatively, the president was prepared to make Iran pay a price.