Qatar-Iran talks lasting more than 12 hours precede Doha meeting and Khamenei’s threat of an unrestricted response
Key Facts
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei threatened an immediate and effective response “without geographical limits” if the United States and Israel renew their attacks, according to a statement from his office reported by Axios on Saturday. The remarks came as Iranian negotiators held talks in Doha with Qatari mediators to discuss ways out of the war in the Gulf, according to a source cited by Reuters. The meeting followed discussions between Iranian and Qatari envoys in Tehran that lasted more than 12 hours on Friday. Khamenei said Iran’s armed forces and people would determine when hostilities end and on what terms if military or terrorist attacks resume. The threat’s timing alongside the talks puts Qatari mediation to the test as the possibility of renewed strikes remains on the table.
According to Axios, Khamenei met with senior military leaders, including Chief of Staff Ali Abdollahi, Army Commander Amir Hatami and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Ahmad Vahidi. He was briefed at the meeting on military readiness along the Gulf coast and around the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, as well as on Iran’s northwestern and southeastern borders. The commanders said production of various types of ammunition and reconnaissance, support and combat weapons had increased severalfold. Khamenei also ordered an update to the target bank to include the material and immaterial assets of the U.S.-Israeli adversary. The statement described the aim as putting “all types of the American-Zionist enemy’s material and immaterial assets within the armed forces’ sights.”
The talks held in Tehran on Friday were coordinated through regular contacts with Washington, Reuters reported. About a week earlier, Qatar proposed a seven-day plan under which the United States and Iran would take daily confidence-building steps ahead of broader peace talks, according to an informed official cited by the agency. But an Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran did not consider the proposal satisfactory. On October 28, Reuters quoted an Iranian official involved in the talks as describing Qatar’s proposal as “unacceptable ideas, not an offer,” and saying Tehran’s position of showing no flexibility on the nuclear issue had not changed. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that day that Tehran was reviewing ideas with mediators to ensure implementation of its own seven-day proposal to end the war.
In remarks reported by the Associated Press on Saturday, Araqchi said Iran was not currently planning to meet U.S. officials, but described recent U.S. efforts to open a broader dialogue as a positive step. He added that a new proposal reached with mediators could allow the Strait of Hormuz to be fully reopened within two days, and said Iranian diplomats were in Qatar for talks. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not set a date for negotiations, saying he did not know whether there was a specific timeline for the Qatar-led talks. Rubio also said President Donald Trump had not made a decision on launching new strikes on Iran. Mediation channels therefore remain open, while there is no announced decision on resuming attacks or timetable for dialogue.
Some of the regional risks center on the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran said on Friday that four oil tankers had been struck by mines and caught fire while transiting, including one it said was carrying more than 2 million barrels; the Associated Press was unable to verify the claims. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said an unidentified projectile struck a vessel south of Lavan Island and that its crew was safe. Oman also announced the evacuation of 25 crew members from a Panama-flagged tanker after it was attacked and caught fire 1.6 nautical miles off the coast of Musandam Governorate. It was not clear whether the tanker incident reported by Oman was connected to the fires Iran announced. On October 26, the Associated Press said a deal brokered by Qatar and Pakistan in June to reopen the strait to shipping, end the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and begin broader negotiations quickly collapsed after attacks resumed.
Reuters said countries in the region expect the possibility that Trump could resume attacks after voting ends in the U.S. midterm elections, while Iran again warned it would target U.S. and Israeli targets in neighboring countries if attacked again. Rubio gave no timetable for the Qatar-led talks, while Tehran has not announced plans to meet U.S. officials for now. Araqchi, by contrast, described Washington’s efforts toward broader dialogue as positive and said the new proposal with mediators could fully reopen the strait within two days. The seven-day plan Qatar proposed about a week ago remains a focus of disagreement after Tehran deemed it unsatisfactory, according to the source cited by Reuters. The next step depends on the mediators’ continued contacts and on Trump’s decision, which Rubio said had not yet been made.