Qatar: “Progress in U.S.-Iran talks” ... Iran: “No deal reached”

[Financial News] Qatar, which is mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran, said the negotiations were making progress. Iran, meanwhile, says no agreement has been reached yet.
According to foreign media reports, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said in a statement on the 3rd (local time), “The mediation team that visited Tehran has returned to Doha, and talks between the two sides are continuing,” adding, “Efforts to narrow differences are underway, and there is clear progress.” He said the two sides were carefully reviewing Qatar’s proposal. He went on to stress that there was consensus on the need to avoid military escalation in the Gulf region and that an opportunity for an agreement remained.
However, a senior Iranian official told the media, “Nuclear negotiations can begin only after Iran’s conditions are met,” adding, “We will never accept America’s excessive demands.”
Iran recently proposed a so-called “two-day plan” to the United States through Qatar. It condenses the seven-stage proposal put forward last September into a two-day schedule. On the first day, the United States would lift the blockade of Iranian ports, suspend sanctions on Iranian oil, and cancel new sanctions. On the second day, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and enter follow-up negotiations. The United States and Iran are signaling a willingness to negotiate over the plan while remaining locked in a tense standoff.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, “All outcomes depend on Washington’s political rationality,” shifting the onus to the United States. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei instructed the military to respond immediately to threats from the enemy, regardless of geographical boundaries.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the previous day, “Iran wants a deal, and one could be reached.” However, reports emerged that same day that the U.S. military had attacked Qeshm Island, a key Iranian position in the Strait of Hormuz. Concerns were also raised that this could adversely affect the negotiations. U.S. officials described it as a defensive measure to prevent Iranian attacks on merchant ships. CENTCOM, however, made no official announcement. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have shot down three U.S. drones over Hormozgan Province.

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