The proposal arrived in Tehran on Sunday, carried by Qatari mediators. By the end of this week, Iran is expected to give its answer, and that answer could help determine whether the war between Iran, the United States, and Israel moves toward a negotiated end or toward a new and more intense round of fighting.
The draft, according to an official briefed on the negotiations who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday, is built around a seven-day timeline. Each day carries specific confidence-building steps that both sides would be required to take, designed to address the concerns of Tehran and Washington in parallel. The timeline could begin as early as next week, and several countries would act as guarantors of the agreement, the official said.
The structure is meant to prevent either side from moving first and being left exposed. Instead of a single sweeping deal, it lays out a sequence of daily, reciprocal moves.
A war that has reached well beyond its borders
The conflict began in February, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Since then, it has disrupted global shipping and oil supplies and spread to other parts of the Middle East. Qatar has led the mediation efforts, with Pakistan also involved.
Diplomacy has been tried before. In June, the sides reached a memorandum of understanding, but it quickly broke down. In September, Iran presented its own seven-day plan to Washington through Qatar, offering to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic within a week. President Donald Trump rejected it.
The new Qatari draft is the latest attempt to build a framework both sides can accept.
Pressure from every direction
The proposal lands in a tense week. Before Sunday’s meeting in Tehran, there were concerns that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could resume attacks on the Islamic Republic this week, the official said. Netanyahu now faces an uncertain political future, after exit polls from Tuesday’s election showed his bloc falling short of a Knesset majority, as did the opposition.
In Washington, the signals have been just as stark. On Friday, Trump repeated his threats to strike Iran again. As JFeed reported earlier Wednesday, Trump is leaning toward a broad military operation against Iran after next week’s midterm elections, although he has not made a final decision. According to N12 and The Wall Street Journal, possible targets include Iran’s nuclear facilities and critical infrastructure, and Washington has told several Arab Gulf states to prepare for a short but intense campaign.
Tehran has made clear it would not absorb such an attack quietly. Two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters last week that Iran has drawn up detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if the United States and Israel resume their strikes. One said Iran would also try to block repairs to prolong disruptions to communications, including internet connections. “If Iran is attacked, there will be no more red lines,” one of the officials warned. Days earlier, Yadollah Javani, a senior official in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Iran could target seven major internet cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz if its infrastructure came under attack.
A second front on the region’s energy supply
The strain on the region’s energy supply is also coming from Yemen. In recent weeks, the Iran-aligned Houthis have launched repeated missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter. They have struck airports in Riyadh, Abha, and Dammam and claimed attacks on facilities belonging to the state oil giant Aramco.
Washington’s channel to Doha
The United States has kept its own line to the mediators open. Last Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. During the call, Al Thani affirmed Qatar’s support for diplomatic efforts aimed at a solution that guarantees freedom of maritime navigation and opens the way to a comprehensive agreement.
What comes next
Iran’s response, expected within days, will show whether Tehran is prepared to take the first steps the Qatari plan demands. If it agrees, the seven-day sequence could begin next week, around the same time Americans vote in the midterms. If it refuses, the window for diplomacy may close just as Washington weighs its next military move.
