Emergency on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv following a row between the pilots. Axios: ‘A new conflict is looking increasingly likely’

US President Donald Trump “has found himself in a quagmire from which he can neither negotiate nor fight his way out”. This was stated today by the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, during a meeting in Tehran with Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Shahin Mustafayev.

“Iran’s conditions have been conveyed to the United States, but Trump is unable to make a decision and the United States, out of desperation, has resorted to an aerial blockade in the military conflict,” added Rezaei, as quoted by Press TV.

Efforts made this week by Qatari mediators to facilitate a diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran have made little headway, as neither side has shown any willingness to compromise. Axios reports this, citing sources familiar with the talks, emphasising that the deadlock reinforces the belief on both sides that a renewed military conflict is becoming more likely. US officials believe that President Trump could order the resumption of major combat operations after the mid-term elections. According to two sources, Qatari officials will continue to try, but are growing increasingly frustrated with both sides. The Qatari mediator, Ali al-Thawadi, met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation for several hours in New York on Monday. A well-informed source stated that they discussed a two-page compromise proposal from Qatar. According to two other sources, Qatar’s plan aimed to satisfy both Iran’s demand for the lifting of the US naval blockade and the US demand for concessions on Iran’s nuclear programme. On Monday evening, al-Thawadi held talks in Washington with Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner and other US officials. Vice-President Vance also attended a brief part of the meeting. On Monday, US officials had told several news outlets that the talks had been “positive and constructive” and that Iran “had shown flexibility on the nuclear issue”. The officials even claimed that Trump was prepared to grant Iran an easing of sanctions and to unfreeze frozen funds in exchange for concrete measures to scale back its nuclear programme. But a few hours later, whilst the Qatari officials were still at the White House, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had offered Iran nothing. One of the sources stated that there had been no significant developments in the talks on Monday. “The situation is at a standstill. The Iranians are demanding things the US cannot accept, and the US believes it has the upper hand, so there is no room for compromise,” the source said.