Axios: Iran Rejects Proposal for Direct Meeting with U.S. and Qatar

The news outlet Axios reported that the Islamic Republic has rejected a proposal by Qatari mediators to hold a trilateral meeting involving representatives from Iran, the United States, and Qatar to resolve remaining differences in ongoing negotiations on June 9.

According to the report, Iranian and American officials have been in separate contact with Qatari mediators in Doha over the past two days. However, Qatar’s efforts to arrange a direct meeting between the parties were met with opposition from Tehran.

Citing U.S. and regional sources, Axios wrote that, alongside continued diplomatic efforts, a Qatari delegation traveled to Tehran on Wednesday to hold talks with Abbas Araghchi and other officials of the Islamic Republic in an attempt to break the deadlock in negotiations.

The report adds that Donald Trump’s order to strike Iranian military targets was not solely prompted by the downing of an American helicopter. Rather, it was the result of his growing frustration with the Islamic Republic’s delay in responding to Washington’s latest proposal.

According to a senior U.S. official, the objective of the limited U.S. strikes on Tuesday evening was to “restore leverage” in the negotiations without causing human casualties or blocking the path toward an agreement.

Two senior White House officials also told Axios that even if the downing of the U.S. helicopter was unintentional, Washington was forced to react to prevent its negotiating position from being weakened. According to these sources, the U.S. strikes were designed to target only radar systems and drone control centers in Iran.

Axios also reported that a few hours before launching the strikes, the White House once again requested that Tehran provide its final response regarding Trump’s recent proposal, but Iranian officials stated that a final decision had not yet been made.

According to the report, following a May 28 meeting in the White House Situation Room, Trump added two new conditions to the draft understanding between the two countries. First, Iran must down-blend its stockpiles of enriched uranium within 60 days, and second, it must refrain from collecting any tolls or fees from transit ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

In return, Washington expressed its readiness to accept that the down-blending process take place inside Iran under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Axios quoted informed sources as saying that Abbas Araghchi had told mediators he needed a few days to deliver Tehran’s response, but the process turned into a nearly two-week wait, driving Trump’s growing dissatisfaction.

The report also notes that before the recent escalation of conflicts between Iran and Israel, the two sides had been close to reaching an agreement, but the military developments of the past few days have complicated the negotiation process.

Despite the retaliatory strikes and rising tensions, U.S. officials told Axios that the negotiations have not been halted, and Washington hopes that recent pressure will compel the Islamic Republic to provide a final response regarding the U.S. proposal.