DOMINANT ANGLE
Doha is asserting its role as a discreet channel between Tehran and Washington, placing Qatari mediation at the heart of the seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was transmitted to the US and the UN in seven days (Gulf Times).
- 02
The plan includes a seven-day ceasefire including Lebanon, the lifting of the naval blockade, the end of oil sanctions, and the unfreezing of at least $12 billion in Iranian assets (Gulf Times).
- 03
US Central Command redirected 122 commercial ships to maintain the blockade against Iran, according to Al Jazeera (September 26).
ANALYSIS
Doha, September 26, 2026. At the United Nations headquarters in New York, Qatari diplomacy conveyed this week the messages exchanged between Tehran and Washington regarding the future of the Strait of Ormuz. According to Al Jazeera, it was through this channel that Iran transmitted to the United States a seven-day plan to reopen the strait, which has been closed for nearly seven months of war. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who had met with Donald Trump's emissary Steve Witkoff on Tuesday, specified on Thursday on the sidelines of the General Assembly, according to Gulf Times: "Iran has transmitted to the United States, through Qatar, a concrete seven-day plan. If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened and normal maritime traffic restored in seven days." He added: "The choice now belongs to the United States. Iran accepts neither coercion, nor threats, nor intimidation."
The plan, still according to Gulf Times, provides for a seven-day regional ceasefire including Lebanon, the lifting of the American naval blockade, the end of sanctions on Iranian oil, and the unfreezing of Iranian assets estimated at at least $12 billion; Ormuz would be reopened on the seventh day of the truce.
Doha has not claimed any breakthrough: both parties have described the indirect contact as "positive", without announcing any diplomatic progress. Analysts cited by Al Jazeera doubt that a firm agreement is near, as Iran wants to resume the framework of a previous agreement entrusting Tehran and Oman with the management of the strait before addressing a broader peace. Washington, which claims to maintain "total control" of Ormuz, wants to immediately open the file on the Iranian nuclear issue, a condition that Iran refuses as long as the blockade is not lifted.
On Saturday, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott assured Al Jazeera that the door to diplomacy with Iran remained open, rejecting the idea that Washington is responsible for the blockade. The same day, the US Central Command announced that it had redirected 122 commercial ships to enforce the blockade, a sign that military pressure continues while the Qatari channel remains open between the two capitals.
