Qatar pushes for U.S.-Iran deal under shadow of Trump's threats

Key points

• Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Friday to deliver edits to a draft proposal to end the U.S. war with Iran.
• Iran's Revolutionary Guard said two oil tankers were halted after incidents in the Strait of Hormuz.
• The Pentagon added two noncombat deaths, bringing the U.S. military death toll in the war to 23.

Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Friday to pass on the latest changes to a draft proposal aimed at ending the U.S. war with Iran, a source familiar with the diplomacy told CBS News. The source said there were signs of progress. A draft was presented last Sunday, and a response from Iran is expected by the weekend. The proposal is meant to prevent a return to U.S. military action, which President Trump has threatened repeatedly in recent weeks.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Friday that two oil tankers were stopped after unspecified incidents as they tried to use a route through the Strait of Hormuz that Tehran considers unauthorized. The IRGC said the tankers had switched off navigation and positioning systems and were attempting to exit with support from the U.S. military. It did not describe the incidents, which followed Iran's claim a day earlier that at least four tankers hit sea mines in the area.

Talks and conditions

The Qatari delegation is led by a senior adviser to Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister and is due to meet senior Iranian officials, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported. An official told Reuters the talks have been coordinated with the U.S. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Qatar had brought only unacceptable ideas and that Tehran would not change its stance on the nuclear issue. Tehran wants the U.S. to lift its blockade of Iranian ports and drop sanctions on gas and oil sales first.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that Tehran continues to give diplomacy a chance and is reviewing ideas with mediators. Iran has not yet replied to a letter from Vice President JD Vance to Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Trump said Thursday the letter was intended only to help get medical supplies into Iran.

continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed

— Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi

Casualties and regional strikes

The U.S. Department of Defense added two noncombat deaths to its official casualty count, bringing the overall death toll since the war began more than eight months ago to 23. The Defense Casualty Analysis System lists 11 service members killed by enemy fire and 12 who died in nonhostile circumstances. Both newly added deaths were airmen, The Washington Post quoted the Air Force as saying.

The Saudi-led coalition said Friday it intercepted and destroyed a drone in the Mecca region that it said was fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Houthis denied any attempt to strike Saudi Arabia on Friday, Reuters reported. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group only targets Saudi oil facilities and military bases.