Gulf States Brace for Renewed US Iran Conflict

Growing uncertainty over Washington's next move against Iran has heightened security concerns across the Gulf, as regional governments prepare for possible military escalation. On Sunday, November 1, 2026, indirect negotiations continued in Doha, where Qatar sought an agreement involving frozen Iranian assets, sanctions relief and reopening the Strait of Hormuz ahead of the US midterm elections.

According to The Guardian, the discussions entered their third day as Gulf officials awaited Washington's response to Tehran's proposal. The negotiations involve releasing more than $6 billion in Iranian assets and establishing conditions for reopening the strategic waterway and restarting discussions on Iran's nuclear program.

Qatar has attempted to accelerate the proposed arrangement by reducing the implementation period from seven days to two. Under the proposed sequence, Washington would ease sanctions and restrictions before Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz and resumed nuclear negotiations.

The diplomatic effort continued despite an attack on a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker traveling toward Pakistan on Friday. Unidentified missiles struck the vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, even though Tehran had reportedly granted it direct clearance and safe-passage approval hours earlier.

United Arab Emirates presidential adviser Anwar Gargash warned that another escalation would harm Iran and neighboring countries. He acknowledged that regional governments were preparing for further instability.

"We are also, as we have shown before, braced for the worst," said Anwar Gargash, the United Arab Emirates envoy.

Gargash also emphasized the importance of maintaining diplomatic relations with Tehran despite regional tensions.

"Relations with Iran are essential, because Iran is our neighbour and we do not want to see it get caught up in a prolonged crisis," said Gargash.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed a preference for resolving the dispute through diplomacy. He indicated that Tehran was prepared to respond to Washington's decisions through either diplomatic or defensive measures.

Araghchi said he hoped Washington would choose "diplomacy over other paths" and described Iran's response as dependent on the US administration's "rationality."

He also confirmed that Iran had no current plans for direct negotiations with Washington. Although Araghchi was not participating personally in the Doha mediation and was scheduled to travel to Turkmenistan on Monday, other Iranian diplomats remained involved.

Iran's proposal, as Araghchi explained in an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the United States lifted restrictions on oil shipments, stopped obstructing the release of Iranian assets and ended sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

US President Donald Trump maintained that American military operations had significantly weakened Iran's armed forces but indicated that further targets remained.

Trump said the United States had to "take care of" one or two remaining targets. He also described negotiations as "going fine but you know they're not very reliable" while questioning Tehran's credibility.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously expressed Washington's willingness to pursue a diplomatic settlement. Meanwhile, Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei disclosed that he had received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance seeking to revive negotiations.

Rezaei described the American communication as a positive change in "tone" but said he had not yet responded.

Iranian Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Nikzad maintained that Tehran would not accept negotiations over its nuclear program, citing previous diplomatic failures and attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

"Our enemies must understand that the Iranian nation has made a decision not to negotiate on the nuclear issue under any circumstances or under any pressure. This great nation gave its enemies enough opportunity to negotiate in this area, but was faced with repeated breaches of promises and illegal bombing of part of peaceful nuclear facilities," said Ali Nikzad, Iran's deputy parliament speaker.

Rezaei also criticized the consequences of the conflict, arguing that its international repercussions extended beyond those of the Vietnam War. He said the war had created widespread political and economic pressure within the United States.

"Today, wherever Trump goes, he must answer why he started the war against Iran. There is no family in America that has not endured the pressure caused by the war in Iran," Rezaei told Iranian television on Saturday.