Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran once again on the morning of Friday, 30 October 2026, in an effort to reach an agreement between the United States and the Islamic Republic. An official familiar with the talks told Reuters the trip had been coordinated with the United States. It is the latest round of Qatari mediation, following trips to Tehran in May, June and July this year.
The mediators' visit comes as a letter from JD Vance, the US vice president, to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Islamic Republic's Supreme National Security Council, remains unanswered. A senior US official said on Thursday that Tehran had not replied to the message.
What Vance's letter says
According to The Washington Post, Vance asked both sides in the letter to return to the negotiating table and urged the Islamic Republic to send negotiators with the authority to resolve the nuclear file. US officials told the newspaper that Rezaei, despite his hardline record, understands the government's difficult situation, and that Washington sees him as the best option for reaching a deal. Donald Trump had earlier said Vance's letter was about sending medicine; an earlier DIAR report set out the details of those remarks.
An Iranian source told Al Mayadeen, a channel affiliated with Lebanon's Hezbollah, that the correspondence exists and called it a sign of American weakness. The same source said Tehran fears that handing over enriched nuclear material could pave the way for a new military attack, a concern showing that the fate of the enriched uranium stockpile remains the main sticking point in the negotiations.
Diplomacy in the shadow of the military option
Qatar's mediation is moving forward alongside US military preparations. Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of CENTCOM, presented Trump with options for striking the Islamic Republic at the White House on Thursday, and US officials have told the Arab states of the Persian Gulf to be ready for a short, intense operation after the 3 November midterm elections. Trump said in South Carolina on Thursday night that the war would be over very soon.
In recent months the Islamic Republic has also exchanged messages through Qatar and Pakistan, but it has still not accepted US conditions on enriched uranium and the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, several ships caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz last week, as DIAR reported.
Qatar has gone back to Tehran in coordination with Washington, but the Islamic Republic has still not answered Vance's letter.
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