The latest round of indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran, held in Doha and mediated by Qatar, ended Sunday with Iranian negotiators leaving the Qatari capital—not due to any deadlock, but to allow time for a draft proposal to be circulated for feedback, according to an official briefed on the talks. Despite three days of Qatari-brokered discussions focused on resolving the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran and the potential release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets, significant obstacles remain.
Sticking Points: Nuclear Program and Sanctions
At the heart of the stalemate is Iran’s nuclear program. US officials, including President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, have made it clear that any comprehensive agreement must address Tehran’s nuclear ambitions from the start. In contrast, Iranian leaders remain adamant: Deputy Speaker Ali Nikzad reiterated Monday that Iran “will not negotiate on the nuclear issue under any circumstances or under any pressure.”
Adding fuel to an already tense situation, a prominent Iranian lawmaker on Monday publicly urged the government to extend its missile range beyond 2,000 kilometers and reconsider its nuclear doctrine, suggesting Iran should develop the capability to build nuclear weapons. This comes as Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed Iran would respond to threats “at any level,” signaling a possible hardening in Tehran’s nuclear stance.
Diplomacy or Escalation?
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met his Turkmen counterpart in Ashgabat on Monday, told reporters that while Iran hopes the US chooses “diplomacy over other paths,” Tehran is prepared for both “defence and diplomacy, depending on Washington’s rationality.” Araghchi confirmed there are currently no plans for direct talks with Washington, but indirect exchanges continue, with Qatari mediators working overtime to compress the process by which the US would lift sanctions in exchange for Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and returning to nuclear talks.
Meanwhile, US media personality Tucker Carlson claimed on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressing President Trump to consider a nuclear strike on Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain tunnel complex—allegedly a site for renewed uranium enrichment. Trump himself, when asked Sunday about negotiations, commented, “They’re going fine, but they’re not very reliable. They make a deal and then they back out,” while also referencing the possibility of striking specific Iranian nuclear sites “in 10 minutes.”
Despite some advances on timelines for potential agreements, no breakthrough has been reached on the nuclear issue. Qatari mediators, US, and Iranian officials are expected to reconvene for further discussions, but with both sides entrenched and regional tensions running high, the path to de-escalation remains uncertain.
