The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces has laid out five conditions for what he calls a roadmap to lasting security, as Qatar said it was “hopeful” that Tehran and Washington could reach a deal paving the way for future negotiations, despite overnight US strikes on Qeshm Island.
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Tehran → lay → Island
Major-General Ali Abdollahi’s plan calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, the complete lifting of sanctions and the unfreezing of Iranian assets and war reparations, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.
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agency → call → Tuesday
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Pezeshkian → hit → diplomacy
The plan also calls for recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and a guarantee against future aggression under a regional security framework for West Asia.
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plan → call → Asia
The plan comes as Qatar steps up mediation efforts amid fears the US-Israel war on Iran, launched in late February, could escalate after the midterm elections in the United States on Tuesday.
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war → come → Tuesday
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in his weekly briefing in Doha on Tuesday that a Qatari delegation held a meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran for more than three hours on Monday, before returning to Doha that evening.
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delegation → say → Doha
Both sides are now reviewing Qatar’s proposal, he said, with mediators exchanging proposals between them in real time.
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mediators → review → time
“If there were no glimmer of hope, there would be no negotiations,” al-Ansari said, adding that Qatar would not speculate on whether an agreement or a military escalation was more likely.
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agreement → be → hope
He warned that any escalation, whether attacks on Iranian territory or on shipping, “will have an impact on the negotiations”, and said continuing the Qatari-Pakistani mediation remained a priority.
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continuing → warn → mediation
He reiterated that freedom of navigation in Hormuz was nonnegotiable, referring to Doha’s condemnation of the targeting of the Qatari tanker Al-Mayda.
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freedom → reiterate → tanker
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas said mediators were aiming to avert a new round of fighting.
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mediators → report → fighting
He said a Qatari delegation visited Iran on Friday in response to a letter to Iran from US Vice President JD Vance, and an Iranian delegation travelled to Qatar the following day.
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delegation → say → Qatar
“The Qataris are trying to mediate with Iran, not on a peace deal, but on a framework to restart the negotiations,” he said.
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he → try → negotiations
Of Monday’s brief visit, he added: “The reading is that the Qataris carried a message to Tehran and immediately left after that.”
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Qataris → add → that
“The main issue is the mistrust between the two parties,” Atas said.
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Atas → say → parties
“The Iranians say that twice previously the US attacked them when they were engaged in diplomacy.
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they → say → diplomacy
That’s why they’re asking for concrete steps, such as lifting sanctions, removing the naval blockade, returning frozen Iranian assets and letting Iran sell oil on the global market.
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Iran → ’ → market
US officials reportedly said the military carried out limited strikes on Qeshm Island on Monday that did not amount to a resumption of major combat operations, saying Iran had tried to target a US aircraft and the attack took out the launcher.
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attack → say → launcher
One official called it “a defensive measure for Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets”.
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it → call → assets
IRNA reported five explosions on the island, with more blasts heard in Bandar Lengeh.
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blasts → report → Lengeh
President Donald Trump had said on October 8 that the US would not attack Iran before the midterm elections.
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US → say → elections
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday it downed two US MQM-170 reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm and destroyed an MQ-9 drone east of the strait.
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it → say → strait
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s lead negotiator, said, “The ball is in America’s court to prevent war.”
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ball → say → war
Tehran’s Hamshahri newspaper reported that Iran had updated its target bank to include US bases and infrastructure in Europe.
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Iran → report → Europe
Zeidon Alkinani, the founding director of the Arab Perceptions Institute, said both sides remained open to diplomacy.
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sides → found → diplomacy
“Diplomacy and force are running in parallel,” Alkinani told Al Jazeera.
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Alkinani → run → Jazeera
Vance had said on Monday he was optimistic about reaching a negotiated settlement.
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he → say → settlement
However, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday Iran was neither waiting for the outcome of US midterm elections nor shaping its policies around them.
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Iran → say → them
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