Qatari mediators are beginning a new round of shuttle diplomacy between Iran and the United States over an amended proposal to end regional fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
An official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters that the mediators were expected to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in New York and hold a separate discussion with the American side on Monday or Tuesday.
Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency subsequently confirmed that Araqchi would meet mediators on Monday morning, New York time, to examine the latest proposals and positions.
The American participants have not been identified publicly.
The meetings are indirect. Reuters has not reported that Iranian and American officials will sit together, and neither government has announced the beginning of formal direct negotiations.
The distinction matters because shuttle diplomacy allows Qatar to transfer revised proposals and responses between the parties without either side making the politically more difficult decision to resume face-to-face talks.
The discussions are expected to focus on a modified version of the seven-day proposal Iran presented during the United Nations General Assembly.
Under the original Iranian plan, hostilities involving Iran and Lebanon would stop. The United States would unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets, end sanctions affecting Iranian oil exports and lift its blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran would then reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while negotiations concerning its nuclear programme and other disputed issues resumed.
Those terms represent Tehran’s proposal, not agreed conditions.
The sequencing is one of the central disagreements. Washington has objected to providing sanctions relief and access to frozen funds before receiving enforceable guarantees concerning the strait, regional attacks and Iran’s nuclear activities.
Trump said on Saturday that he had rejected the original offer, arguing that Iran was seeking an agreement because of the military and economic pressure it faced.
He nevertheless told Axios on Sunday that he expected American negotiators to participate in further discussions during the week.
That combination—a public rejection followed by continued indirect engagement—suggests the original document was unacceptable to Washington but that negotiations over revised terms have not ended.
Araqchi said mediators had not formally informed Tehran that the United States had definitively rejected its plan.
He stated that Iran would wait for Washington’s final position before deciding its response and maintained that reopening the Strait of Hormuz depended on Iranian conditions being met.
The two positions therefore remain far apart.
Iran seeks major sanctions relief, access to frozen assets, an end to attacks and the lifting of restrictions on its ports before or alongside reopening the waterway.
The United States wants stronger assurances concerning Iran’s nuclear programme and regional military activity and does not accept providing Tehran with its principal economic demands in advance.
No independently confirmed text of the amended proposal has been made public.
It is consequently unclear whether Qatar has suggested simultaneous steps, phased sanctions relief, international monitoring or another mechanism intended to resolve the dispute over sequencing.
The talks carry global consequences because the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy routes.
The war and restrictions around the waterway have sharply reduced shipping, disrupted oil and refined-product supplies and contributed to higher fuel prices internationally.
Countries far from the battlefield, including Nigeria and other African economies, are affected through transport costs, currency pressure, electricity generation and the price of imported goods.
A reopening could ease some physical supply constraints and reduce market uncertainty. Its economic effect would depend on whether shipping companies and insurers considered the arrangement credible and whether attacks actually stopped.
The present war began on February 28 with United States and Israeli strikes on Iran.
The conflict has since moved through periods of reduced activity and renewed attacks, while Iran and allied groups have targeted American partners and commercial interests across the region.
Saudi Arabia has become more exposed as Houthi forces expand operations in Yemen and threaten routes affecting Red Sea shipping and Saudi oil exports.
The diplomatic proposal therefore extends beyond the US-Iran confrontation. A workable settlement may require commitments addressing Lebanon, Yemen, Gulf security and attacks on commercial vessels.
Iran has publicly presented diplomacy as the only route out of the conflict.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Tehran is prepared to discuss its nuclear programme but will not accept coercion. Iranian officials maintain that the country does not intend to develop nuclear weapons.
Washington remains sceptical. US officials have said Trump rejected the original offer because Tehran sought sanctions relief and access to frozen money before providing sufficient assurance that broader negotiations would succeed.
Neither position proves that an agreement is close.
The scheduling of mediation establishes that diplomatic channels remain active. It does not establish that the parties have accepted a ceasefire, agreed to reopen Hormuz or resolved the nuclear dispute.
Key unknowns include the amended proposal’s exact wording, the United States representative, whether Israel and other regional parties support the initiative, and how compliance would be monitored.
It is also unclear whether a proposed pause would cover every force aligned with Iran or how violations involving the Houthis, Lebanon or other regional actors would be addressed.
Qatar has previously served as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran and maintains working relationships with both governments.
Its involvement provides a credible channel for proposals, but mediation cannot compel either side to accept the resulting terms.
The immediate indicators to watch are confirmation that both separate meetings occurred, an official description of the revised terms, any change in military activity and evidence that shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz are being relaxed.
The strongest verified conclusion is that Qatar is opening a fresh mediation round over an amended settlement proposal and that Araqchi has remained in New York to participate.
A ceasefire, reopening of the strait, sanctions relief and renewed nuclear negotiations remain proposed outcomes rather than confirmed decisions.
