Qatar Returns to Tehran to Push U.S.-Iran Deal as Strait of Hormuz Incidents Mount

Qatari officials returned to Tehran on Friday to pursue a peace agreement between Iran and the United States. The delegation, led by a senior adviser to the prime minister and foreign minister, is scheduled to meet with senior Iranian leaders. State-run IRNA news agency reported that the talks focus on bilateral relations and regional developments. An official briefed on the diplomacy confirmed that Qatari mediators presented Iran with a new draft deal to end the war. Washington and Tehran remain divided on core issues, with Iran demanding the lifting of its port blockade and oil sanctions before negotiations begin.

President Donald Trump maintains that recent diplomatic outreach is narrowly focused on medical aid. He denied that a letter from Vice President JD Vance to Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, aims to restart wider peace talks. Trump told reporters the letter is intended only to secure the flow of medical supplies into Iran. Iranian media reports indicate that Tehran has not yet responded to the communication. The semi-official Tasnim news agency stated that Iran is not prepared to drop its core ceasefire conditions, which include lifting the American blockade and accessing frozen financial assets held abroad.

Maritime tensions in the Strait of Hormuz escalated this week. The U.K. navy’s Maritime Trade Operations center reported that a tanker was struck by a projectile Thursday evening while exiting the strait. The ship was using the southern route, a path promoted by the United States but deemed illegal by Tehran. UKMTO stated that there were no reported injuries to the crew or environmental impact at the time of the report. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Friday that two oil tankers were halted after encountering unspecified incidents in the waters south of the strait. The IRGC claimed the vessels had switched off navigation systems and attempted to pass through an unauthorized route with U.S. military support.

These events followed Iran’s claim earlier Thursday that at least four tankers struck sea mines in the area. The armed forces said the incidents caused fires on the ships. It remains unclear if the tanker hit by the projectile was one of the four that struck mines, though the timing suggests they may be separate incidents. Iran has repeatedly warned shippers that using the southern route puts them at risk. The IRGC statement described the two halted tankers as offending parties that attempted to exit through the unauthorized route in the eastern and western parts of the strait.

The U.S. Department of Defense updated its casualty figures for the conflict, which began more than eight months ago. The Pentagon added two service member deaths to its official count, bringing the total to 23. Both new deaths were classified as noncombat related. The Defense Casualty Analysis System lists 11 service members killed by enemy fire and 12 who died under nonhostile circumstances, including accidents and sickness. The two recently added deaths were airmen. The Washington Post quoted the Air Force as saying one died of an illness and the other from unspecified causes under investigation.

The Saudi-led coalition announced Friday that it intercepted and destroyed a drone in the Mecca region. The coalition attributed the launch to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The Houthis denied attempting to strike Saudi Arabia on Friday. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree stated on social media that the group had not conducted operations aimed at Saudi territory. Saree added that Houthi targets are limited to Saudi oil facilities and military bases.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that Tehran continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed. Araghchi said Iran is working with mediators to review ideas included in a proposal floated last month. That proposal was rejected by President Trump, but Iran still views it as the basis for a new ceasefire agreement. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Qatar had presented the draft and that Tehran would not change its stance on the nuclear issue, a topic Washington wants included in negotiations from the start.