Washington, DC [US], November 9 (ANI): US President Donald Trump will meet Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at the White House on Monday to discuss efforts to reach a new ceasefire and resume nuclear negotiations with Iran, according to the White House schedule.
The Qatari Prime Minister is expected to meet Vice President Vance separately before his meeting with Trump, Axios reported, citing a source with knowledge of the matter.
Qatar has maintained an essential role as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran, passing along diplomatic proposals and attempting to bridge gaps regarding Iran's nuclear programme and the conditions required to conclude the ongoing conflict.
Further addressing the diplomatic landscape, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated on Sunday that negotiations with Iran had yielded little progress, adding that he saw no sign of an imminent breakthrough.
Addressing journalists before his departure from Florida to attend the upcoming G7 foreign ministers' meeting, Rubio noted that President Trump strongly favoured a diplomatic solution, though he simultaneously characterised Tehran's conditions as "unacceptable" and, in some instances, "outrageous and ridiculous, and really not realistic".
Building on those diplomatic themes, US President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that fresh military strikes against Iran remained "highly unlikely", provided that ongoing talks continued to advance, though he stopped short of completely ruling out the prospect of further military action.
During a telephone interview with CNN, President Trump asserted that Washington had already delivered a crushing blow to Tehran, rendering additional military operations "highly unlikely" to be required.
"It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement," Trump noted, addressing Iran's nuclear ambitions and the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz.
The US leader also maintained that American forces had mapped out critical infrastructure targets across Iran, highlighting that power plants and bridges had been identified, and boasted that authorities could destroy 38 bridges in an hour.
"Most likely it will not be necessary," Trump reiterated. "They want to make a deal so badly."
Earlier, President Trump disclosed that diplomatic channels remained active as his administration imposed fresh sanctions targeting eight Canadian firms alleged to have assisted Tehran in laundering funds via cryptocurrency networks.
"We're talking to Iran. We have been," Trump told reporters before leaving the White House.
Depicting the military situation as highly advantageous for the United States, the President reported that the Strait of Hormuz was reopening.
"We've beaten Iran. We are doing very well with Iran," he said.
When pressed on what message he wished to convey to Tehran, President Trump balanced his assertions of military triumph with confirmation that diplomatic contacts persisted.
The remarks coincided with an announcement from the US Treasury Department detailing sanctions against eight money services businesses operating in Canada under the banner of Operation Economic Outcast.
According to the Treasury, these enterprises swapped Iranian rials, along with other fiat currencies, for digital assets to facilitate international financial transactions for Iran. Officials added that multiple entities had engaged with blacklisted Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges or digital wallets tied directly to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
More than eight months after the initial wave of joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran, President Trump has continued to project ambiguous signals regarding his stance on resolving the war. Meanwhile, Washington and Tehran remain deadlocked, with minimal headway in formal diplomatic initiatives. (ANI)