Qatari mediators presented Iran with a new draft deal on Sunday 25 October to end the war with the US and Israel, and Tehran is expected to send a response to the draft by the end of the week, an official briefed on the negotiations said on Wednesday 28 October. The draft's terms are attributed to that official, not to a published text.

Seven days of steps

The draft sets a seven-day timeline of daily confidence-building steps addressing both Tehran's and Washington's concerns. The timeline could begin early next week, with several countries acting as guarantors of the deal, the official said.

Why timing matters

Qatar, along with Pakistan, has led mediation of the war the US and Israel launched in February. An interim peace deal in June quickly unravelled, and the conflict has disrupted global shipping and oil supplies and spilled over across other parts of the Middle East.

The official cited concern that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fighting a general election, could resume attacks on Iran this week. On Friday, US President Donald Trump repeated threats to strike Iran again, while Iranian security officials told Reuters Tehran had drawn up plans to attack Gulf undersea cables if attacks resumed. That is an attributed claim, not a confirmed action.

Sources: Reuters and InvestingLive.