Qatar urges US and Iran not to wait for a "perfect moment" to reach a peace deal
Qatar's prime minister has urged the United States and Iran to reach a deal to end the war between them without waiting for ideal conditions. In an interview at Oxford University, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said the two countries cannot afford to wait for a "perfect moment," according to Al Jazeera.
On November 7, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that the United States was talking to representatives of Iran. Earlier in the week, he had described the talks as "doing well," as ANI reported.
Qatar has been acting as a go-between, passing messages between the two governments. Mediators are third parties who carry proposals between sides that do not talk directly. Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on October 30, 2026, as part of efforts to reach a deal, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters. On November 3, Qatar's Foreign Ministry said it was continuing its efforts to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran by facilitating exchanges between them.
Qatar has played this role before. In August, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said Qatar's efforts had led to an Iranian-American prisoner swap deal.
Iran has said that contacts over ending the war continued after a round of talks finished without a breakthrough, according to Reuters.
Fighting has not stopped entirely. Iran's official news agency IRNA reported that two missiles struck Qeshm Island, which lies in the Strait of Hormuz. Semi-official Iranian outlets reported that there were no casualties from the strikes.
