Iran Turns Down Qatari Plan to End War With US, Calling It Unacceptable

Iran has rejected a Qatari proposal aimed at ending the war with the United States, describing the plan as "unacceptable". Qatar gave the draft deal to Iranian negotiators on Sunday, in an effort to bring an end to a conflict that has now lasted eight months.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that Tehran could not work with what had been put forward. The official added that Iran would show no flexibility on the nuclear issue.

Earlier this month, US Vice President JD Vance said Iran must reduce its nuclear enrichment if the war is to end. Iran has repeatedly maintained that its nuclear programme is entirely for non-military domestic use.

The talks are taking place amid growing concern that the US and Israel could soon resume attacks on Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been raising the prospect of fresh strikes as he campaigns for re-election in Israel's parliamentary vote.

With 77 percent of votes counted, Netanyahu's bloc is the largest in the Israeli parliament. On Wednesday, as negotiations were due to start on forming a new government, he announced he would work with US President Donald Trump to eliminate what he called the "existential threat" posed by Iran. His main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, has also backed strikes on Iran combined with economic pressure.

The war, which began in February, has badly disrupted the global economy and driven energy prices sharply higher. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday that any Israeli-instigated attack in the Gulf region would have a "devastating impact" on global markets. In a post on X, he said the prospect of such a "military misadventure" remained a major concern for both gas suppliers and consumers.

Any renewed fighting in the Gulf would also come on top of the ongoing clashes between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen. On Wednesday, the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, urged people at Aden Airport to leave immediately. Aden is the southern Yemeni city that serves as the seat of the Saudi-backed government.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said on X that a Saudi military cargo plane carrying weapons "intended to kill the Yemeni people" was present at the airport.

Military sources from both sides told AFP that nearly 100 fighters have been killed since Monday in clashes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces. At least 63 Houthi fighters and 34 combatants linked to the internationally recognised government have died, mostly near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.