Lavrov expected in Tehran for talks aimed at averting wider Iran war
Russia’s foreign minister says his planned Tehran visit is aimed at preventing a return to large-scale war, as Iran says its ceasefire proposal remains open.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was expected in Tehran on Monday, October 19, for talks he said were aimed at preventing a return to large-scale war, CBS News reported. It would be his first visit to Iran since the United States and Israel launched strikes on February 28; CBS had not reported that the visit had taken place.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the talks would cover regional and international developments. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart in early October that Moscow was prepared to help mediate, according to CBS News.
Iran’s seven-day ceasefire proposal
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, October 18, that Tehran’s proposal for a seven-day ceasefire with the United States remained on the table and that Iran was reviewing US comments on it. President Donald Trump rejected the proposal when Iran first presented it in September, CBS News reported.
The proposal calls for the United States to end its naval blockade of Iranian ports and ease sanctions, among other conditions. Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen on the sixth day if those conditions were met, with direct negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme beginning on the seventh. Those are Iran’s proposed terms, rather than an agreed timetable.
Shipping attacks and Qatar’s mediation hopes
The stakes for shipping remain immediate. Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations centre said a southbound tugboat off the United Arab Emirates was struck by two unknown projectiles on Sunday. It sustained damage but continued its route, and one minor casualty was reported. The centre counted 10 attacks on commercial vessels in and near the strait in the preceding week, CBS News reported.
At the Global Security Forum in Doha on October 19, Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani warned that the war’s effects on global energy supplies had yet to peak. Iranian strikes damaged Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial complex in March, with repairs expected to take several years, Al Jazeera reported.
Al Thani said Qatar remained in contact with Tehran despite the strikes. He expressed hope that mediation involving Qatar, Pakistan and Oman could help produce an agreement among the United States, Iran and other parties, including Israel. He also said Qatar planned to announce a regional defence partnership, but did not name its prospective partners.
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Sources and context
- Live Updates: Russian foreign minister says he's visiting Iran for talks to avert return to "large-scale war"CBS News
- Qatar warns global energy shockwaves from Iran war have yet to peakAl Jazeera
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.