Iran and US exchange new proposals through Pakistan

追加: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]Bandar Al-Aiban, who's an assistant professor at the International Affairs Department of Qatar University, and he joins us now live from Doha. Welcome to the News Hour. So, we have another proposal on the table, another proposal that Iran apparently has responded to.

[00:00:17]Do you feel that we are getting closer to ending this war at all, or are we just going around, or is the US and Iran going around in circles?

[00:00:30]Well, that's a good question, Maria. I mean, what we are witnessing at the moment is a big gap between both parties.

[00:00:39]The gap comes not only from trust, but the gap the gap comes basically from the starting point in the negotiations and itself.

[00:00:47]When we see the United States as negotiating on the nuclear deal, we see the Iranians are negotiating on something else, basically, about lifting the naval blockade and also uh uh basically ending the war. So, therefore, we are not actually seeing any concessions going on. And in for mediation and for negotiations to work, you either have both parties offering concessions for the overall uh benefit, or you see one party is losing, therefore they're offering concessions. And the problem we have basically is the narrative of victory. Both think they are victorious, basically. Mhm. And both think they are in a position to call for demands, and therefore what we are seeing basically is more circles we are inside of that's going on and on and on without ending, and therefore we think the military action is looming, basically, and both parties are are actually using that card as a bargaining chip, basically. Mhm. And as you say, as you correctly pointed out, they both have a a victory speech that we uh hear almost every day. And what about the Gulf countries? You're speaking to us from Doha, and yesterday on Sunday, it really appears that the risk is still there for Gulf countries.

[00:02:11]Uh the UAE said a drone strike had triggered a fire near its nuclear power station, um calling it a dangerous incident. Saudi Arabia's defense ministry said it had intercepted and uh destroyed drones from Iraq. So, right now, how is the Gulf How are Gulf countries looking at this this state of limbo?

[00:02:36]Well, unfortunately, this is the new normal in the region when we are in the middle of this chaos, basically, and this is something unacceptable, and this is something is not normal at all. When we see that the regional security is not an issue anymore, we see attacks going on, and these attacks are being used as uh pressure on the US, pressure on the region, pressure on the global economy to move on from uh the the level of stagnation that the negotiations is is actually uh stopping at. And this is something quite worrying and it quite concerning, not only to the to the region countries, but also to the world that's uh benefiting a lot from this region, benefiting a lot when it comes to energy, when it comes to aviation, when it comes to uh supply chains, and all of uh fertilizers, and and petrochemical products. So, basically, uh this is something uh quite concerning, and this is something why we see so many regional countries uh basically, when you when you see Pakistan with the mediation, but also other countries such as uh Qatar, Turkey, and Oman, and other countries, they are pushing for uh more negotiations. They they having calls with the US, and they even receiving calls with from Iran, although Iran is still attacking and still launching attacks against the GCC, which actually shows either there is a strategy within Iran to to have to use diplomacy and hard power at the same time, or there is a big division within Iran, basically.

[00:04:12]Abdullah, just just stay where you are.

[00:04:14]I just want to remind our viewers of some breaking news right now. Donald Trump has just said that he's holding off on a planned attack on Tuesday on Iran. And in a post on Truth Social, he said, "I've been asked by the Emir of Qatar, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and the President of the UAE to hold off on our planned military attack of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow."

[00:04:48]And that serious negotiations are now taking place, and that in their opinion, as great leaders and allies, a deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as countries in the Middle East and beyond. And this deal will include, importantly, no nuclear weapons for Iran.

[00:05:12]Based on my respect for the above-mentioned leaders, I have instructed the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Cain, and the United States military, that we will not be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large-scale assault of Iran on a moment's notice in the event that an acceptable deal is not reached.

[00:05:45]All right. Let that Let me go back to you Abdullah with that uh uh truth post truth social post there from Donald Trump. What's your reaction to that?

[00:05:59]Well, uh there are so many take ons on that. I feel one first of all we see regional countries again they're playing a key role in pushing for more de-escalation and more for diplomacy.

[00:06:10]This is for the good of the region. This is for the good of the world to have stability. Also, it's it's almost the same message that President Trump has delivered over times that always there is an excuse of for him not to uh carry on an attack. He wants to put more pressure on the Iranians and the Iranian negotiators to give more concessions because he believes he's in position of threatening for using force against the Iranians and that's why he's bringing this excuse over and over to show domestically that he is in control of the situation and also globally to create more pressure on the world to put more pressure like people the countries that has uh contacts with Iran to put more pressure on Iran to to be the ones who give concessions. So, I think this is the the rhetoric that President Trump has been using to reflect the power dynamics because this is I think the the most concerning part of this negotiations. Both parties wants to to walk away with a with a strike with with a right exit strategy with face saving deal that they could sell to their domestic audience. And this is one of the major issues at the moment for both parties and then I think what President Trump posted is just reflecting this reality.

[00:07:34]Thank you so much Abdullah for reacting to that breaking news and also for all your comments and time. Abdullah bin Bandar Al Thani speaking to us there from the from Qatar University. Thank you for your time and insights.