ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington is doing "very well" in talks with Tehran, as Qatar's prime minister urged the two sides to accept a practical peace agreement rather than pursue a "perfect" deal.
"We have beaten Iran. We are doing very well with Iran. We are talking to Iran. We have not lost a soldier in seven months or six months," Trump told reporters outside the White House after announcing a new chief of staff.
His remarks came as Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the United States and Iran have failed to reach a comprehensive agreement, urging both sides to compromise rather than seek a "perfect" deal.
The remarks coincided with a renewed diplomatic push by Qatar, whose mediators traveled to Tehran on Monday evening to discuss a proposed agreement with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Reuters reported, citing an official briefed on the negotiations.
The delegation was making its third visit to Tehran in a week. Its arrival followed intensive discussions in Doha involving Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi and Qatari mediators.
Washington and Tehran have pursued competing diplomatic and military approaches to ending their eight-month confrontation, with both sides continuing to threaten military action if negotiations fail.
“Today at the Oxford Union, I stressed that states that turned their potential into strength and prosperity can also do more to make peace and bolster global stability, and that size no longer defines influence on the international stage as challenges and divisions grow,” Thani posted on X on Friday.
In a phone call on Friday, Araghchi briefed his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein on Tehran's vision for resuming talks, including "setting timelines related to the start of the negotiation track" alongside reopening the Strait of Hormuz and addressing the Iranian nuclear file, according to a statement from Hussein’s office.
In response, Hussein proposed forming a committee of regional foreign ministers to visit both Tehran and Washington in an effort to reach "peaceful understandings that help address existing disputes and bolster regional stability."
