Iranian negotiators held talks in Doha on Saturday with Qatari mediators about a way out of the Gulf war, a day after more than twelve hours of discussions in Tehran, as diplomats race to prevent fighting from resuming after next week’s American midterm elections. The move to Qatar is the newest step in a mediation in which Pakistan is also named as a mediator — and it comes with a concrete new proposal on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which much of the world’s oil travels.
A source briefed on the negotiations told Reuters the Doha talks were being coordinated in regular contact with Washington. Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, told Al Jazeera on Saturday that a recent American effort to open dialogue was “a positive step” — while making clear Tehran is not yet ready for a direct meeting with American officials.
A two-day plan — with conditions attached
The most specific new detail concerns Hormuz. Araghchi said Qatar had proposed shortening the time needed to carry out Iran’s plan to reopen the strait from five days to two days, and that Tehran had agreed to that shorter timetable at this stage. Reopening the strait on Iran’s terms, he said, would pave the way for renewed negotiations with Washington.
The conditions remain demanding. Iran wants sanctions imposed after the Islamabad memorandum lifted, American forces in the region reduced, oil export waivers restored, and frozen Iranian funds released, including funds held in Qatar. On the nuclear question — Iran’s nuclear technology work, which Washington fears could be used to build weapons — Araghchi said mediators had presented proposals that Tehran is reviewing as a second phase.
Reports of direct US talks in Doha remain unconfirmed, and no agreement has been announced. Araghchi: “We see no need to meet with the Americans at this stage.”
Warnings on both sides
The diplomacy is running against a tense clock. The United States holds midterm elections on Tuesday, and regional officials have warned strikes on Iran could resume after the vote, although President Donald Trump said on Friday the war “is going to be over very soon.” Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, ordered the armed forces on Saturday to be ready to respond immediately and without geographic limits to any new attack.
What it means for Pakistan
Pakistan’s stake here is direct and personal. 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. A wider war would put those workers and those remittances at risk, which is why Pakistan’s named role as a mediator matters to ordinary families, not just to diplomats.
Then there is oil. Tensions around Hormuz have already pushed Brent crude sharply higher this week, settling at $117.64 a barrel on Friday, and Pakistan imports most of its oil. A genuine reopening of the strait could, over time, help ease that pressure — but until a deal is signed and held, readers should plan on expensive oil, not on relief.
Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera. Written in our own words for information only — not investment advice.