Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who has led mediation for end-of-war talks between the United States and Iran, met Iran's top officials in succession and urged the resumption of dialogue. But U.S. President Donald Trump drew a clear line that he has no intention of returning to the end-of-war agreement framework reached in June, leaving mediator countries' efforts to restore diplomatic channels between the two nations facing major headwinds.
On the 27th (local time), according to a compilation of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and statements from the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Al Thani visited Tehran, Iran's capital, that day to keep up his brisk pace. He met in turn with President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Director General of the end-of-war talks, among Iran's key leadership. At the meeting, Al Thani discussed in depth establishing a temporary route through the Strait of Hormuz, the key chokepoint for global oil shipments, and plans to remove mines. He repeatedly emphasized diplomatic efforts, saying that the best way to resolve differences and avoid heightened regional tensions is dialogue.
Despite such mediation efforts, Iran is sticking to a hard-line stance that the United States must fulfill conditions first. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said clearly in an interview with Lebanon's Al-Manar TV that day, "We are preparing a list of conditions for opening the Strait of Hormuz, which includes ending wars in West Asia, including Lebanon." Rezaei also warned in his meeting with Al Thani, "We do not trust the United States," adding, "If the United States commits any act of aggression against Iran, we warn that we will inflict a catastrophe, worthy of the history books, on the United States' military and economic interests."
The United States also shows no sign of backing down. The Trump administration has repeatedly told mediators it has no interest in returning to the preliminary agreement reached in June. Trump effectively scrapped that deal and chose a strategy of tightening powerful economic pressure on Iran. The White House is also hard-line. White House Spokesperson Anna Kelly said, "As the president said, there are no ongoing or planned talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran," and added, "The maritime blockade remains fully in place, and an economic ostracism operation is underway to cut all remaining economic lifelines sustaining the regime."
As both countries pursue a brinkmanship strategy without concessions, the positions of mediator nations such as Oman, Pakistan, and Qatar have narrowed significantly. The agreement reached in June centered on easing sanctions on Iran in exchange for opening the Strait of Hormuz. But after Iran resumed attacks on ships, the deal collapsed within just a few weeks. Iran is setting the restoration of the agreement as a precondition for opening the strait, while the United States is applying pressure with strong naval power, and the two sides are failing to find common ground. On this, H. A. Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in the United Kingdom, assessed, "Trump wants a win one way or another, and that makes things enormously complicated." Umer Karim, a researcher at the University of Birmingham, also analyzed that "the old memorandum of understanding is essentially dead in every respect," making the mediators' task very difficult.