Qatar holds marathon talks in Tehran, to continue Saturday in Doha, Qatar

October 31 - According to Axios citing diplomatic sources, Qatari mediators held talks in Tehran on Friday for over 12 hours, attempting to reach an agreement to restart direct negotiations between the US and Iran and avoid war breaking out after the midterm elections. The talks will continue on Saturday in Doha, Qatar. A diplomatic source said that during the day-long talks on Friday, Qatari mediators maintained regular contact with the White House.

The source said: "The negotiations have made positive progress. Both the US and Iran are still working to reach an agreement." Qatar is urging the US and Iran to agree on a series of reciprocal measures that would be implemented within days to bring both sides back to direct negotiations on Iran's nuclear program and other issues.

A US official said that so far, two contradictory demands have hindered the talks: the Trump administration insists that Iran make concessions on the nuclear issue as part of resuming negotiations, while Iran stipulates that the US must first lift the maritime blockade, unfreeze funds, and allow it to sell oil.

Qatar is trying to persuade Iran to allow UN inspectors to visit its bombed nuclear facilities as a confidence-building measure, which the US hopes to use as a basis for relaxing sanctions on Iran.