Trump Calls Qatar Talks ‘Excellent’ and Sees Momentum to End Iran War, but No Deal Emerges
President Donald Trump called his Monday meeting with Qatar’s prime minister “excellent” and said he sees momentum toward ending the Iran war, but the talks ended without a deal.
Trump and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, whose country is leading mediation with Tehran, met behind closed doors Monday afternoon, and no agreement emerged, the Washington Examiner reported.
Afterward, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the U.S. remains “locked and loaded” to resume major combat operations, Al-Monitor reported. “At this point, however, that seems to be quite unlikely,” he wrote. “We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this conflict.”
The Qatari prime minister wants Trump to allow more time for diplomacy, Axios reported, citing sources.
Mediators from Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey have been working on a draft calling for a series of steps over two days to build confidence toward a broader deal.
Iran’s plan would end the U.S. blockade of its ports, lift some sanctions and halt bombing in exchange for Tehran ending its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with nuclear talks to follow, NBC News reported. The U.S. has repeatedly rejected it.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called Tehran’s conditions “outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic.” “I wouldn’t say we’re on the verge of a breakthrough,” he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is still waiting for Washington’s answer.
“Meet the requirement, including end to war on all fronts, and you will see results,” he wrote on X. “Or choose war, and see our alert and battle-hardened Warriors rain down hell.”
The U.S. struck Iran’s Qeshm Island overnight, according to Iranian state media, and attacks on tankers in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz have continued at the highest rate since the war began, NBC News reported. The U.S. has not commented on the strike reports.
A senior United Arab Emirates official, Anwar Gargash, warned that the region should “prepare for a long period of uncertainty in which neither a decisive resolution nor stable regional order can be taken for granted,” NBC News reported.
The war is now more than eight months old, and Vice President JD Vance has blamed it for Republicans’ midterm losses. Democrats have signaled they may use the Dec. 11 government funding deadline to force an end to the conflict, the Washington Examiner reported.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., urged colleagues to refuse “another cent for his war” in any funding package.
At a briefing later Monday, Trump said Iran has been “very much decapitated” but is “still the bully of the Middle East a little bit,” adding that he wants “a long-term solution, not just a short-term.”
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