Iran, US still far apart on deal to end war as Qatar pushes mediation

Iran and the United States remained far from a deal to end their war on Tuesday, as Qatar mediated talks to bridge differences and avert renewed escalation. The United States carried out limited strikes on Iran’s Qeshm island, while President Donald Trump renewed threats of possible military action. Tehran said the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen unless Washington met its conditions, including waiving oil sanctions, ending its naval blockade and releasing frozen Iranian funds. Qatar said both sides were reviewing proposals and talks were continuing.

Mohsen Rezaei said Washington’s response to Iran’s seven conditions was not convincing and that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen only if the conditions were addressed.

Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran on Monday night to discuss a draft deal, then returned to Doha while talks continued.

An official briefed on the talks expected feedback from Washington and Tehran within 36 hours, while a senior Iranian official said there was no deadline for exchanging messages or reviewing responses.

Oil prices rose about 1.3% after falling more than 7% the previous day amid hopes that diplomacy was progressing.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they downed a U.S. MQ-9 drone and two Lucas drones near the Strait of Hormuz.

Published Nov 4, 2026 1:45 am KST

A banner depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, on a street in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters-Yonhap

DUBAI — Iran and the United States are still far from a deal to end their war, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday, while mediator Qatar stepped up efforts to bridge differences and avert a renewed escalation after the U.S. midterm elections.

Overnight, the United States carried out "defensive" strikes on Iran's Qeshm island targeting surface-to-air missiles used against U.S. assets, a U.S. official said. Another official said the strikes appeared limited and did not signal a return to major combat operations.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday renewed threats of possible military action, telling Fox News Channel: "I'm not looking to ... kill lots of people. If we have to, we'll have to."

Qatar has intensified mediation efforts amid fears the conflict launched by the United States and Israel in February could flare up again after Tuesday's midterms.

"Mediators are working hard to narrow gaps between Tehran and Washington," the senior Iranian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran on Monday night for talks on a version of a draft US-Iran deal discussed over the past eight days.

"Tehran's conditions must be met if the U.S. wants Hormuz reopened," the Iranian official cautioned, referring to Iranian demands including waiving oil sanctions, ending the U.S. naval blockade and releasing frozen Iranian funds.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, later said the U.S. response to Iranian demands "was not convincing", adding that Washington "must fully and explicitly address Iran's seven conditions and act upon them".

"Only in this case will the Strait of Hormuz be reopened," he wrote on X.

'We cannot lose hope'

On Monday, Trump raised doubts about whether he would follow through on a threatened resumption of military strikes against Iran and said a deal with Tehran could happen.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said both the United States and Iran were reviewing proposals put forward by mediators. While the Qatari team that travelled to Tehran had returned to Doha, talks were continuing.

"There are intensive joint regional efforts underway to avoid escalation," he told a news briefing, adding that Qatar remained hopeful a deal could still be reached to pave the way for future negotiations.

"If there were no glimmer of hope, there would be no negotiations.. and as a mediator, we cannot lose hope," he said.

An official briefed on the talks said feedback from Washington and Tehran was expected within the next 36 hours.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters later on Tuesday that there is no deadline for exchanging messages with Washington through mediators or reviewing responses.

The senior Iranian official said Tehran would not accept Washington's "excessive demands" and that nuclear talks could begin only after Iran's conditions were met.

Tehran would respond forcefully, in the region and beyond, to U.S. strikes, the official added.

Oil prices rose about 1.3%, having dropped more than 7% the previous day on hopes diplomacy was progressing.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they downed a U.S. MQ-9 drone and two Lucas drones in the skies near the Strait of Hormuz.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the ball was in Washington's court after Tehran had delivered what he described as a "strong and rational response".

"The enemy seeks to force the Iranian nation into submission through threats and military action, but they are sorely mistaken; Iran will not submit," Qalibaf said. He added that Tehran's response to any U.S. miscalculation would be unpredictable and unconstrained by geography.

The head of Iran's armed forces general staff, Ali Abdollahi, said Iran's military was updating target lists that included U.S. and Israeli assets and would respond immediately to any threat.

Since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the armed forces last week to respond immediately and without "geographic limits" to any enemy threat, Iranian officials and media have increasingly raised the prospect of striking bases beyond the region used to launch attacks on Iran.

Hardline newspaper Kayhan said on Tuesday that U.S. facilities in Britain, Italy, Greece, Romania, Albania and Cyprus could be targeted in the event of renewed war.

Alongside indirect exchanges between Tehran and Washington, regional powers are pursuing diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation. The conflict has also widened, with Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis stepping up attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that talks with Saudi Arabia were continuing to seek new regional security arrangements that would exclude foreign military involvement.

Last week, senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met Iranian counterparts in Tehran, the first such high-level contacts since August.

周二，伊朗和美国距离达成结束战争的协议仍相去甚远。卡塔尔斡旋双方谈判，试图弥合分歧，避免局势再次升级。美国对伊朗格什姆岛进行了有限的空袭，而美国总统特朗普则再次威胁可能采取军事行动。德黑兰方面表示，除非华盛顿满足其提出的条件，包括取消石油制裁、结束海上封锁以及解冻伊朗资金，否则霍尔木兹海峡不会重新开放。卡塔尔方面则表示，双方正在审查相关提议，谈判仍在继续。

莫森·雷扎伊表示，华盛顿对伊朗提出的七项条件的回应并不令人信服，只有满足这些条件，霍尔木兹海峡才会重新开放。

卡塔尔调解员周一晚前往德黑兰讨论协议草案，然后返回多哈，谈判继续进行。

一位了解会谈情况的官员预计华盛顿和德黑兰将在 36 小时内给出反馈，而一位伊朗高级官员表示，交换信息或审查回复没有截止日期。

受外交进展预期的影响，油价在前一天下跌超过 7% 后，反弹上涨约 1.3%。

伊朗革命卫队称，他们在霍尔木兹海峡附近击落了一架美国MQ-9无人机和两架卢卡斯无人机。

发布于2026年11月4日凌晨1点45分（韩国标准时间）

周二，伊朗首都德黑兰街头出现一幅横幅，上面印有美国总统唐纳德·特朗普、以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡、美国副总统约翰·迪·万斯和美国特使史蒂夫·威特科夫的画像。（西亚通讯社/路透社/韩联社）

迪拜——一位伊朗高级官员周二告诉路透社，伊朗和美国距离达成结束战争的协议仍然很远，而调解方卡塔尔则加紧努力弥合分歧，并在美国中期选举后避免局势再次升级。

一位美国官员表示，美国连夜对伊朗格什姆岛发动了“防御性”打击，目标是用于攻击美国目标的地面对空导弹。另一位官员则表示，此次打击规模似乎有限，并不意味着大规模作战行动的重启。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周二再次威胁可能采取军事行动，他在接受福克斯新闻频道采访时表示：“我不想……杀害很多人。但如果必须这样做，我们就不得不这样做。”

由于担心美国和以色列在2月份发起的冲突可能会在周二的中期选举后再次爆发，卡塔尔已加大了调解力度。

一位不愿透露姓名的伊朗高级官员表示：“调解员正在努力缩小德黑兰和华盛顿之间的分歧。”卡塔尔调解员周一晚抵达德黑兰，就过去八天来一直在讨论的美伊协议草案版本进行磋商。

“如果美国想要重​​新开放霍尔木兹海峡，就必须满足德黑兰的条件，”这位伊朗官员警告说，他指的是伊朗的要求，包括放弃石油制裁、结束美国海上封锁和解冻伊朗资金。

伊朗最高国家安全委员会秘书莫森·雷扎伊后来表示，美国对伊朗要求的回应“并不令人信服”，并补充说，华盛顿“必须全面明确地回应伊朗的七项条件并采取行动”。

“只有在这种情况下，霍尔木兹海峡才会重新开放，”他在 X 上写道。

我们不能失去希望

周一，特朗​​普对是否会兑现恢复对伊朗军事打击的威胁表示怀疑，并表示有可能与德黑兰达成协议。

卡塔尔外交部发言人马吉德·安萨里表示，美国和伊朗都在审查调解人提出的建议。虽然前往德黑兰的卡塔尔代表团已经返回多哈，但谈判仍在继续。

他在新闻发布会上表示：“目前正在开展密集的区域联合努力，以避免局势升级。”他还补充说，卡塔尔仍然希望能够达成协议，为未来的谈判铺平道路。

“如果没有一丝希望，就不会有谈判……作为调解人，我们不能失去希望，”他说。

一位了解会谈情况的官员表示，预计将在未来36小时内收到来自华盛顿和德黑兰的反馈。

周二晚些时候，一位伊朗高级官员告诉路透社，通过调解人与华盛顿交换信息或审查答复没有最后期限。

这位伊朗高级官员表示，德黑兰不会接受华盛顿的“过分要求”，只有在伊朗的条件得到满足后，核谈判才能开始。

这位官员补充说，德黑兰将对美国的袭击做出强有力的回应，无论是在该地区还是在更广阔的范围内。

受外交进展预期的影响，油价上涨约1.3%，此前一天油价下跌超过7%。

伊朗革命卫队称，他们在霍尔木兹海峡附近空域击落了一架美国MQ-9无人机和两架卢卡斯无人机。

议长穆罕默德·巴格尔·卡利巴夫表示，在德黑兰做出他所谓的“强硬而理性的回应”之后，球现在在华盛顿这边。

“敌人企图通过威胁和军事行动迫使伊朗屈服，但他们大错特错；伊朗绝不会屈服，”卡利巴夫说道。他还补充说，德黑兰对美国任何误判的回应都将是不可预测的，并且不受地理位置的限制。

伊朗武装部队总参谋长阿里·阿卜杜拉希表示，伊朗军方正在更新目标清单，其中包括美国和以色列的目标，并将对任何威胁立即作出反应。

自从最高领袖阿亚图拉·穆杰塔巴·哈梅内伊上周下令武装部队立即对任何敌方威胁作出反应，且不受“地域限制”以来，伊朗官员和媒体越来越多地提出打击该地区以外用于袭击伊朗的基地的可能性。

强硬派报纸《凯汉报》周二表示，如果战争再次爆发，美国在英国、意大利、希腊、罗马尼亚、阿尔巴尼亚和塞浦路斯的设施可能会成为攻击目标。

除了德黑兰和华盛顿之间的间接互动外，地区大国也在积极开展外交努力，以防止局势进一步升级。冲突范围也已扩大，也门与伊朗结盟的胡塞武装加大了对沙特阿拉伯的袭击力度。

伊朗外交部长阿巴斯·阿拉格奇周二表示，伊朗正与沙特阿拉伯继续进行谈判，寻求新的地区安全安排，排除外国军事介入。

上周，沙特阿拉伯、土耳其和巴基斯坦的高级官员在德黑兰会见了伊朗同行，这是自8月以来首次此类高级别接触。