U.S., Qatar, and regional powers push for swift Iran war de-escalation plan

Middle East 10-05-2026 | 12:42

U.S., Qatar, and regional powers push for swift Iran war de-escalation plan

Quiet diplomacy intensifies across the Middle East as multiple regional powers converge to broker a rapid ceasefire framework.
U.S., Qatar, and regional powers push for swift Iran war de-escalation plan
Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio
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Axios, citing journalist Barak Ravid, reported that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff held a meeting on Saturday in Miami with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, as part of ongoing efforts to reach an understanding to end the war with Iran.

 

 

According to Barak Ravid, the significance of the meeting is that it reflects Doha’s emergence as the main center of active mediation, even though Pakistan is still formally presented as the primary negotiation channel between Washington and Tehran since the outbreak of the war.

 

 

 

 

The report pointed out that the U.S. administration views Qatar’s role as “the most effective” in communicating with the Iranians, while the negotiations are currently focused on a “brief memorandum of understanding” of one page, which is intended to lay the groundwork for ending the war and opening the door to broader negotiations later.

 

 

Ravid also mentioned that the Qatari Prime Minister changed his return schedule to Doha after meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Washington and instead headed directly to Miami to continue consultations, where he also held a call with the Saudi Foreign Minister to discuss the mediation path.

 

The report added that the United States was still waiting for the latest Iranian response by Saturday afternoon, amid a regional movement involving Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia to push both parties toward de-escalation and a swift political agreement.