An anti-US AI-based animation depicting Lego-shaped images of the Chinese dragon, the legendary Persian Simurgh and the Statue of Liberty is displayed during the 2nd international Media-Expo in Tehran, Iran, October 29, 2026. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Qatari mediators held talks with Iranian officials to try to restart direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran, an official source close to the discussions told CNBC on Saturday.
Iran pledged ‘geographically unrestricted response’ to any new US attack
Qatari mediators held more than 12 hours of talks in Tehran on Friday to reach an agreement aimed at avoiding a possible resumption of U.S. attacks on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Axios first reported that negotiations are expected to continue on Saturday in the Qatari capital Doha.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there were no plans to meet US officials, adding that an Iranian delegation had visited Qatar for talks with mediators, Qatari media outlet Al Jazeera reported.
“What is circulating about this is just media speculation,” Araghchi was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.
A preliminary deal signed June 17 between the United States and Iran to end the fighting — which began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets — collapsed weeks later.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump reiterated his assertion that the war in Iran would end “whenever I want it to”. Trump said it “would be very quick, but we have to end it properly.”,” with a “total declaration” that Iran would never possess nuclear weapons.
The last confirmed US strikes against Iran took place on September 1. Trump had previously left open the possibility that attacks on Iran would resume after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, scheduled for Tuesday. Tehran has said it is preparing a military response to any US strike.
A statement posted Saturday on Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s Telegram account said that “any level or type of threat must be responded to immediately, impactfully and without geographic restrictions.”
Maritime attacks continue
The Iranian Broadcasting Agency quoted an official in Hormozgan province as saying on Saturday that US forces attacked two fishing boats off the coast of Masan, near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. The report has not been independently confirmed.
U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
This is the latest report of attacks on shipping in this economically crucial maritime area.
The UK’s Maritime Trade Operations Center reported on Friday that an oil tanker was hit by an unknown projectile as it exited the strait.
Brent crude oil prices, in US dollars per barrel, year-to-date
Separately, Iran said Friday that four oil tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen’s Houthis claimed missile strikes on Saudi Arabia, increasing pressure on two fronts.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said three tankers caught fire after hitting mines along what it called an “unauthorized southern route” near the Omani coast. The Iranian military said a fourth fire had burned east of the strait.
Oil prices jumped more than 2% on Friday and stabilized at their highest levels since late April, as traders prepared for a possible escalation of the war.
Brent crude December futures, which expired Friday, rose $2.76, or 2.4 percent, to $117.64 a barrel, after hitting a high of $118. The more active January contract gained $2.63 to $113.43.
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