Speaking in the Qatari capital Doha, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Iran’s leadership to “really engage in dialogue”, saying there was “a huge fear of military escalation in the region”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by Turkish newspapers as saying “So far, I see that the parties want to make room for diplomacy”, adding that the conflict was “not a solution”.
There was tension ahead of the talks over whether the meeting should include regional countries and address Tehran’s proxies and support for its ballistic missile programs, two US concerns that Iran opposed.
Citing unnamed Iranian officials, The New York Times said the United States agreed that regional actors would be excluded from the talks, and that while the meeting would focus on the nuclear file, it would also discuss missiles and terrorist groups “with the goal of laying out the framework for an agreement”.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said, “Iran is showing inflexibility toward addressing US demands, making it less likely that Iran and the United States will be able to reach a diplomatic solution.”