Gulf Arab states have told Tehran they could hit back, together or on their own, if Iran attacks their infrastructure. Mediators described the warning to the Wall Street Journal, and it comes as negotiations between Washington and Tehran have stalled.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar have both held security drills to prepare for possible Iranian attacks.
In Doha, the exercise reached the airport on Monday. Qatar Airways said it was taking part in WATAN 2026, Qatar's annual nationwide exercise, with contingency and readiness activity at Hamad International Airport. JNS reported the airline's notice that passengers might see extra activity on the ground and in the surrounding airspace. Qatar Airways said flights and passenger services would run as normal.
On the diplomatic track, Ynet reported that mediators say the talks are stuck on which side should make the first concession. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday that Iran's supreme leader had given his government "certain powers" over the negotiations, adding that Tehran would "try to resolve the issue through dialogue."
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was holding intensive consultations through mediators, including Qatar and Pakistan, aimed at an arrangement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart negotiations with Washington. Several days of discussions with Qatar ended without a breakthrough, though revised proposals remain on the table.
"If the U.S. accepts our conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and negotiations will resume," Araghchi said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the talks center on Iran's seven-point plan, which Tehran submitted in September and later narrowed after President Donald Trump rejected it that same month. Under the plan, the United States would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports and allow Iranian oil sales, and newly imposed sanctions would be removed. Iran, in return, would reopen the Hormuz shipping route, with other issues left for later.
Baghaei said the narrower plan leaves Iran's core position intact: nuclear talks would resume only once Tehran's conditions are met. Asked whether Iran would agree to ship its enriched uranium stockpile to another country, he said no.
Beijing and Moscow both came out against renewed strikes. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking after talks in Beijing with senior Iranian official Ali Bagheri Kani, urged all parties to seek political solutions. In Moscow, the Foreign Ministry described reports of renewed military activity against Iran as "a cause for great concern."
