Qatari Prime Minister Meets Vance in Washington as US Awaits Iran Response

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani arrived in Washington, D.C., on Friday morning for talks with Vice President JD Vance. The discussions cover the Iran war and other topics.

The day before, Al-Thani told al-Araby al-Jadeed there is a "high probability" that the United States and Iran will reach a deal.

Speaking Friday morning in Italy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States expects to receive Iran's response to the draft agreement for ending the war "today at some point."

"We're expecting a response from (Iran) — we'll see what the response entails," Rubio told reporters. He added that the hope is that it is something that "can put us into a serious process of negotiation."

Al-Thani, who also serves as foreign minister, is Qatar's top diplomat. He has acted as a conduit for the United States on difficult issues involving Gaza, Afghanistan and Iran. Qatar hosts U.S. Central Command.

Al-Thani's optimistic comments came hours before recent U.S. "self-defense strikes" and President Trump's remark that a deal "might not happen, but it could happen any day."

Overnight, the United Arab Emirates reported shooting down two ballistic missiles and three drones from Iran. Earlier Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on social media that "every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure."

Pakistan has hosted the diplomatic talks so far, though many countries take part in efforts to end the war. On Thursday in Beijing, Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana thanked Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for meeting Iran's top diplomat and for China's work to "de-escalate tensions" and bring peace to the Middle East. Daines did not note that China remains a major trading partner and buyer of Iranian oil.