Trump: "Finish the job" with Iran, Qatar mediation underway

Donald Trump said, in an interview with Axios, that the United States must “finish the job” in Iran, through a diplomatic deal or otherwise. “We have to finish the job, with a deal or another way” (transl. from Spanish), said the US president, leaving both paths open — negotiation and military — without clarifying which one will prevail.

Behind the scenes, according to Axios, Qatar is leading diplomatic efforts to reactivate negotiations between Washington and Tehran, with support from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. The mediators’ goal is to reach an understanding before a possible new US and Israeli military offensive, a scenario that remains on the table according to the outlet’s reporting.

On the Iranian side, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Tehran is discussing with mediators a seven-day plan to end the war in the Middle East and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the maritime passage at the center of tensions in recent months. The conditions set by Iran for a deal include the release of Iranian funds held abroad, the lifting of sanctions on the oil sector and the end of the US naval blockade in the region.

On the direct contacts front, US Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in an attempt to restart negotiations. The initiative, at Trump’s own instruction, adds to the channel already open through Qatari mediation and signals an attempt at parallel communication alongside the ongoing multilateral talks.

The picture that emerges is one of multi-level diplomacy — regional mediation, direct letters, public statements from Trump — proceeding while the conditions set by both sides remain open: the United States demands a deal that definitively closes the matter, Iran demands an end to the economic and military measures affecting it. Neither condition has, at the moment, been met.