Qatar Seeks to Resume Iran-US Negotiations... Khamenei Orders 'Unrestricted' Retaliation

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the armed forces to respond immediately “without any geographical restrictions to any threat from the enemy,” according to a statement published on his official Telegram account on Saturday. Khamenei said Iran would determine the time and conditions for ending any military attacks or “new terrorist acts resumed by the enemies,” and ordered an update to the list of military targets to enable various types of U.S. and Israeli physical and non-physical assets to be placed within the crosshairs of the Iranian armed forces.

This escalation comes as Iran’s foreign minister said there are “no more red lines,” warning that the armed forces would deliver a “shattering blow” to anyone daring to harm the Iranian people, amid rising tensions with Washington and Tel Aviv.

On the other hand, diplomatic efforts to restart negotiations between Iran and the United States continue. The U.S. Axios website reported yesterday that Qatari mediators held talks in Tehran lasting more than 12 hours on the day before yesterday, in an effort to reach an agreement to resume direct talks between Washington and Tehran and to avoid a war after the midterm elections, with discussions set to continue in Doha today. The website quoted a diplomatic source as saying that Qatari mediators remained in continuous contact with the White House throughout the talks, adding that “positive progress” had been made and that efforts were still underway to reach an agreement between the two sides.

Meanwhile, Axios reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressuring U.S. President Donald Trump to launch a military operation against Iran immediately after the midterm elections, as disagreements persist over the conditions for resuming negotiations.