Iranian Negotiators Leave Doha as Draft Proposal Circulates for Hormuz Reopening

Iranian negotiators left talks with Qatari mediators in Doha on Sunday, 1 November. An official briefed on the discussions said the departure did not result from any breakdown. A draft proposal is circulating and a follow-up meeting remains possible.

The talks form part of ongoing efforts to end the conflict that began with joint US and Israeli strikes on 28 February 2026. Iran responded with attacks on Gulf targets. The Strait of Hormuz has remained a central point of contention. Iran has restricted passage and the United States has maintained a naval blockade.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stated that the discussions rest on a seven-step plan Tehran prepared in September. The plan aims to reopen the Strait and lift the US blockade. Iranian officials now suggest the timeline could shorten to two days once an agreement is reached, rather than the original seven days. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Al Jazeera that Iranian and Qatari negotiators had developed language for that accelerated reopening.

Baghaei listed Iran's conditions. No final agreement can proceed, and the Strait cannot reopen or be secured, until the US naval blockade ends, Iran's demands are respected, and its legitimate requirements are addressed. Those requirements include the lifting of recent US sanctions, reinstatement of oil waivers granted in June, a reduction in the US military presence in the region, recognition of new shipping routes designated by Iran and Oman, and an end to the conflict on all fronts, including Israeli operations in Lebanon.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Qatar-led contacts have continued without interruption. He said Washington remains open to a diplomatic solution if one emerges. President Donald Trump has stated that the United States will not launch new attacks before the midterm elections on 3 November, though he has not ruled out further action afterward. Iranian leaders have warned that any resumption of strikes would trigger a longer and more costly response.

Qatari officials travelled to Tehran on Friday before the talks moved to Doha. Pakistani mediators, including contacts involving Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, have also been active. The UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash has expressed hope that the Qatar-led channel can produce a breakthrough and avoid a new round of confrontation.

Global oil markets have tracked the talks closely. Roughly 20 percent of the world's petroleum liquids transit the Strait in normal times. Any confirmed reopening schedule would affect tanker insurance rates, freight costs, and crude prices within days. Conversely, a collapse that leads to renewed strikes would raise the risk of further disruption to Gulf exports.

The Iranian team included Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi. Araqchi has said Tehran is prepared for both defence and diplomacy. No public text of the circulating draft has been released. Officials on both sides describe the current phase as an exchange of messages through Qatari intermediaries rather than direct negotiation.

The next 48 hours will show whether the two-day Hormuz proposal gains traction or whether the midterm calendar pushes any decision past 3 November. Until a text is agreed, the blockade and Iranian restrictions remain in place, and the risk of escalation after the US vote stays open.