The United States has stepped up military flights to Israel and other Middle Eastern countries in recent days, even as diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement with Iran continued, with Qatari mediators returning to Tehran on Friday. The two tracks — visible military preparation and quiet negotiation — are running in parallel, and neither, on its own, tells the full story of where the confrontation stands.

At least 10 US military transport aircraft have arrived at the Ovda and Nevatim air bases in southern Israel in recent days, according to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Tel Aviv, with the aircraft mainly departing from Texas. Additional US military aircraft have also been sent to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the report said. The movements follow US media reports that Washington warned some Gulf countries of the possibility of a short but high-intensity military campaign against Iran after the midterm elections on 3 November.

Diplomacy has not stopped

Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of efforts to reach a deal between the US and Iran, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters. The mediation has been coordinated with the US, the official said. Qatar presented a draft peace plan to Iran on Sunday, but a senior Iranian official dismissed the proposals as unacceptable and said Tehran would maintain its nuclear position.

The gap between the two sides remains wide, and it is about sequencing as much as substance. Washington wants nuclear issues included from the start of negotiations. Tehran demands that the US first end its blockade of Iranian seaports and lift sanctions on oil exports. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday that Tehran remained in close contact with intermediaries to review ideas that could implement its own seven-day proposal for ending the war.

What could come next

On Thursday, President Donald Trump said Vice President JD Vance's outreach to Iran concerned medical supplies, following US media reports linking it to efforts to revive peace talks. Tehran has confirmed receiving a letter from Vance to the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, but has not responded. Iran's parliament speaker, who also heads its negotiating delegation, said on Thursday that progress depended on the US meeting seven conditions set by Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy said on Friday that two oil tankers were stopped in waters south of the Strait of Hormuz — a claim with no immediate confirmation from the US military. The coming week will test whether diplomacy can narrow a gap the military build-up is widening in public view.

Sources: Vietnam News Agency via Stockbiz; Reuters.