Qatari officials conducted over 12 hours of talks with Iranian leaders in Tehran on Friday, attempting to broker direct negotiations between the US and Iran to prevent military escalation before the November 3 midterm elections.
Indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran in Doha, Qatar, mediated by Qatari and Pakistani officials, concluded with both sides agreeing to establish a communication channel to report violations of their memorandum of understanding. However, the talks ended in stalemate over broader issues, with US officials stating that $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets will not be released until Tehran fulfills the terms of the agreement.
Several members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been killed in recent attacks in Kurdish-majority western Iran, with state media attributing the violence to separatist groups and foreign actors. The violence comes as US envoys arrive in Qatar for negotiations with Iran, though the two countries have given conflicting statements about the talks' status.
