๏ธ๐ถ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ท Reuters: Iranian negotiators met with Qatari mediators in Doha on Oct. 31 after more than 12 hours of talks in Tehran, as regional diplomats sought to prevent renewed U.S. attacks on Iran after the Nov. 3 midterm elections that were regularly reported with contacts with Washington.
Qatar offered a seven-day confidence-building framework ahead of broader peace talks, but Tehran rejected it as insufficient, instead demanding Washington lift its blockade of Iranian ports, unfreeze Iranian assets and approve an Iranian-backed shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz before opening the waterway. Iran's Supreme Leader Mujtaba Khamenei ordered the armed forces to prepare for an immediate response to any attack, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump had not made a final decision on further strikes and preferred a diplomatic solution; Iranian officials are also reviewing a letter from US Vice President J.D. Vance regarding renewed engagement.