Trump meets Qatar's prime minister as Doha pushes a 48-hour bridge deal on Iran and Hormuz
President Donald Trump is due to receive Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, at the White House on Monday, as Doha presses a short "bridge deal" meant to halt the slide towards renewed war between the United States and Iran. The talks come after a weekend of explosions, mined tankers and warning shots around the Strait of Hormuz.
What Qatar is proposing
Under the Qatari plan, a 48-hour framework of confidence-building steps would open formal negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme. Washington would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports and release part of Iran's $8 billion in frozen assets. In return, Iran would give inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency immediate access to nuclear sites damaged in earlier US and Israeli strikes. Iran is reviewing the proposals. It wants an end to the blockade, sanctions relief, access to frozen funds, compensation for war damage and an end to regional hostilities, including Israeli operations in Lebanon.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two sides are not close to a breakthrough and called Tehran's demands unrealistic. Vice President JD Vance has blamed the war for Republican losses in the 3 November midterms; Mr Trump agreed on the electoral effect but said he would make the same decision again.
A volatile strait
On Saturday evening Iranian state media reported explosions on Qeshm Island and at the port of Jask. On Sunday Iran's military said two tankers caught fire after hitting mines while taking an unauthorized route through the strait, and the US military said it disabled a St Kitts-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Oman that had ignored warnings. The Revolutionary Guard lifted a self-imposed 2,000-kilometre limit on its ballistic missiles' range, and Washington launched a new task force to curb Iranian arms movements. Mr Trump has said 38 bridges have been identified as possible targets if fighting resumes.
Algeria's stake
Algeria has called throughout the crisis for dialogue and for respect for the United Nations Charter, which requires states to refrain from the threat or use of force and to settle disputes peacefully. President Tebboune set out that position in early October.
Monday's meeting will show whether Washington prefers a phased deal or the strikes it has repeatedly threatened. Any agreement would have to be tested first on the strait itself, where mines and warning shots now carry the risk of a miscalculation.
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