Trump signals softer Iran stance as Qatari mediators seek deal

Sky News reported that Iranian negotiators were in Doha for a third consecutive day of talks with Qatari mediators aimed at ending the US-Iran war. The channel broadcast images of the Strait of Hormuz with little traffic passing through it, despite President Donald Trump's claim that the waterway was open and oil was flowing.

On 6 November, Trump told Sky News that US negotiators were involved in talks with Iran. Sky News reported that the president was also considering fresh strikes against the Iranian regime. In remarks broadcast by the channel, Trump said: 'We've beaten Iran, we are doing very well with Iran, we're talking to Iran.' Dominic Waghorn, Sky News's international affairs editor, also asked Trump how it felt to be a 'loser' after the midterms. Trump did not answer.

The next morning, Sky News reported that Trump had confirmed strikes were still taking place while saying his negotiators were in talks. Trump rejected the description of the conflict as a war and said the US carried out 'minor strikes' after reports of strikes near Qeshm Island. He declined to discuss those reports directly.

Military analyst Robert Clarke told Sky News that opinion was split '50-50' on whether Trump would resume meaningful strikes or seek a negotiated settlement. Clarke said the option to resume strikes was 'ever present'. He said talks involving Vice President J.D. Vance, the Qatari prime minister and Pakistan's army chief were continuing almost daily. He also said the appointment of Stephen Miller as chief of staff suggested Trump might double down.

Sky News reported that Trump's midterm defeat was largely attributed to the war in Iran, with the vice president admitting it cost them the election. Iran expert Robert Templer told the channel that a Qatari initiative was trying to push some sort of deal, though its shape was unclear. He said Trump could resume bombing, declare victory and walk away, or continue a messy stalemate. Templer said Trump's language had softened in the previous 24 hours, with the president rejecting the label 'war' and playing down recent strikes on air defence sites. He added that Iran was preparing for renewed attacks and that Gulf states wanted a peaceful diplomatic end.

Templer also said the Strait of Hormuz had been open before the war began in February. He described the conflict as self-defeating for the United States, saying it had left Washington weaker strategically and tactically in the Middle East. Both sides needed a way out, he said, and reopening the strait and lifting the US blockade would benefit Iran's struggling economy as well as global trade.