Iran has dismissed the latest ideas put forward by Qatari mediators to end its war with the United States and Israel, even as diplomacy continues behind the scenes.

A seven-day timeline

Qatari mediators presented Iran with a new draft deal, an official briefed on the negotiations said, but a senior Iranian official said Doha had only put forward unacceptable ideas that did not amount to an offer. The official briefed on the talks, who is not from Iran, said the draft peace proposal for the eight-month-old conflict was presented on Sunday and was being considered by Tehran, with a response expected by the end of the week. Details of the latest plan were not immediately clear.

Araghchi: diplomacy still has a chance

The proposal presented by Qatar sets a seven-day timeline addressing both Tehran's and Washington's concerns, laying out daily confidence-building steps that each side must take, the official said. The timeline could begin early next week, with several countries acting as guarantors of the deal.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Tehran remained in close contact with intermediaries to review ideas that could ensure the implementation of its own seven-day proposal. He said Iran continued to give diplomacy a chance to succeed, adding that Tehran's seven-day plan could be implemented in less than a week. Tehran's stated demands have included an end to hostilities, the lifting of the naval blockade and restrictions on oil exports, and the release of frozen Iranian assets, while its policy of showing no flexibility over the nuclear issue was said to remain unchanged. Qatar, along with Pakistan, has led mediation to end a war that has disrupted global shipping and oil supplies and recently spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. No breakthrough has been announced.

Sources: BusinessWorld Online (Reuters), The News (Reuters).