Iran has denied receiving a new Qatar peace proposal to end the war, despite reports that mediators handed Tehran a draft agreement and that officials were considering a response by the end of the week.
A senior Iranian official said Qatar had brought “unacceptable” ideas rather than a fresh peace plan. The official also said Tehran would show no flexibility on the nuclear issue.
The reported proposal was handed to Iran on Sunday by Qatari mediators, according to an official briefed on the negotiations. The same source said Tehran had been expected to respond by the end of the week.
There had been concern in Iran before the meeting that Israel could resume its bombardment of the country. The war began in late February with strikes on Iran.
Iran warns of impact on global markets
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any Israeli-led attack in the Gulf region would have a “devastating impact” on international markets.
“Devastating impact on int’l markets of any Israel-instigated military misadventure in Persian Gulf region remains major concern for both gas suppliers and consumers,” he said.
The United States and Israel have raised the prospect of renewed attacks on Iran in recent days. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he could work with US President Donald Trump to eliminate what he described as the “existential threat” posed by Iran.
The developments came as the estimated cost of the war reached 47 billion dollars, according to an estimate from the US military’s Central Command. The figure does not include damage to US military bases in the Middle East, while 29 billion dollars of the total is attributed to replacing spent munitions.
