Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi received US feedback through Qatari mediators on a seven-day plan aimed at building trust between Washington and Tehran, with the sequencing of proposed steps emerging as the main disagreement, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters on Wednesday.
Araqchi had met with Qatari mediators in Doha on Tuesday evening and was to discuss the US response in Tehran on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
Araqchi said Iran’s seven-day plan presented last week said the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened and normal maritime transit resumed if the necessary conditions were met. US President Donald Trump rejected the proposal, leading to further Qatari mediation.
The circulated document calls for a seven-day trust-building period to bring the two sides back to an enhanced version of a memorandum of understanding agreed in June, including concrete measures on Iran’s nuclear programme, the official said.
The official said that the disagreement is over the order in which the measures would be implemented, not the measures themselves.
Qatar has been passing messages between Washington and Tehran in its efforts to help bring the conflict to a close and reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. The June memorandum, which contained provisions on the strait and Iran’s nuclear programme, led to a short ceasefire, Reuters reported.
