War in the Middle East: Senior Iranian officials arrive in Doha, Donald Trump raises the stakes of a peace agreement

The situation in the Middle East still in great uncertainty. Senior Iranian officials traveled to Doha on Monday, May 25, for negotiations with a view to a peace agreement in the Middle East, for which Donald Trump raised the stakes by calling on Qatar and Saudi Arabia to normalize their relations with Israel. Earlier, Tehran had reported progress in the discussions but ruled out the prospect of an imminent agreement to turn the page on hostilities.

The visit to Qatar by the Iranian delegation, including chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the Central Bank Governor, is the first of its kind since Tehran’s retaliatory strikes against its Gulf neighbors during the war.

According to the official Iranian agency Irna, “iIt appears that certain American commitments, within the framework of this agreement, will be implemented with the help of Doha” et “This trip aims to ensure Qatar’s availability to provide support in areas related to American commitments”. The unfreezing of Iranian assets blocked abroad, notably in Qatar, is crucial for an Iran weakened by decades of American sanctions and war, according to Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group.

But at the same time, President Trump appeared to raise the stakes for a possible peace agreement. In a lengthy social media post, he listed the leaders of majority-Muslim countries he has spoken with in recent days, saying “that after all the work done by the United States.) all these countries should be required, at a minimum, to sign the Abraham Accords simultaneously”. Signed in 2020, these agreements led to a normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, two close allies of Washington in the Gulf, with Israel. But many states have so far refused to join this process, in particular Saudi Arabia as well as Syria and Lebanon, especially since the conflict which devastated the Gaza Strip.

After weeks of deadlock, the negotiations seemed to be unblocked in the last 48 hours. “We have reached a conclusion on many of the issues”commented the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaïl Baghaï. “But to say that the signing of an agreement is imminent, no one can say that”he added, accusing Washington of being fickle.

Donald Trump also dampened hopes for a quick conclusion. “Either the Iran deal will be an excellent and meaningful deal, or there will be no deal.”he wrote, while his Israeli ally insists on the need to“Completely eliminate the nuclear threat“, a point that Tehran does not want to address immediately.

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, however, sent a signal of relaxation, ordering the reestablishment of access to the international internet in Iran, suspended since the start of the war, according to the Iranian agencies Tasnim and Fars. Benjamin Netanyahu told him Monday that Israel would “intensifier” its offensive in Lebanon to “crush” Hezbollah, after new Israeli strikes which left three dead, according to the Lebanese national information agency, ANI.