Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday, 30 October, in a fresh effort to reach a deal between the United States and Iran, as diplomats try to revive a ceasefire in a conflict that has pushed oil prices sharply higher and unsettled the whole Gulf region.
The mediation has been coordinated with the United States, according to an official briefed on the talks who spoke to Reuters. Al Jazeera reported that the delegation, headed by a senior adviser to Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, arrived in the Iranian capital on Friday morning for talks and consultations. No agreement has been announced, and the visit itself is the news — not a done deal.
What each side is asking for
The two sides are still far apart on the order of steps. Qatar presented a draft peace plan to Iran on Sunday, but a senior Iranian official dismissed the proposals as unacceptable and said Tehran would maintain its position on its nuclear programme — its work on nuclear technology, which Washington fears could be used to build weapons.
Washington wants nuclear issues included from the start of any negotiation. Tehran, by contrast, demands that the United States first end its port blockade — its effort to stop Iranian ships and trade — and lift sanctions on Iranian oil exports. Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, said on Wednesday that Tehran remained in close contact with intermediaries to review ideas that could put into practice its own seven-day proposal aimed at ending the war in the Middle East.
There are also conflicting signals from Washington. A letter from US Vice President JD Vance to Iran’s security chief, delivered on Sunday, has reportedly been well received in Tehran. President Donald Trump, however, said on Thursday that the outreach concerned medical supplies, while US media have separately reported that he warned Gulf allies to prepare for a brief, intense campaign after next week’s US midterm elections. Sources told Al Jazeera a meeting could possibly be held within a week, either in Doha or Istanbul — but that remains unconfirmed.
What it means for Pakistan
For Pakistan, the stakes in this diplomacy are very direct. Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis live and work in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states, and the money they send home — remittances — is one of Pakistan’s most important sources of foreign currency. Any wider fighting in the Gulf puts those workers, their jobs and those remittances at risk.
There is also the oil link. Much of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, and tensions there have already helped push Brent crude above $116 a barrel this week. Pakistan imports most of its oil, and diesel has already crossed 400 rupees a litre at home. A genuine ceasefire could, over time, help ease prices — but readers should not count on it yet. Until a deal is signed and held, diplomacy is moving again, while the risks have not gone away.
Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera. Written in our own words for information only — not investment advice.