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Monitored since 10 November 2026 | last update 10 November 2026, 19:47 CET
Key takeaways
- Qatar's prime minister is due to meet British, French, German, Italian and Saudi ministers in Paris after White House talks with Trump.
- Trump said he is holding off on strikes at the behest of Gulf neighbours, and defined the status quo as the naval blockade continuing.
- Rubio said Sunday there was no breakthrough, and Iran's Rezaei called talk of negotiations imaginary, while Baghaei said talks continue with Qatar and Pakistan.
Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, is due to meet European powers and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday 10 November, Reuters reported. The stop is unscheduled and falls within the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' meeting in Paris. He was scheduled to meet the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters. On Monday he met President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance behind closed doors at the White House.
The French foreign ministry said the ministers "will discuss the situation in the Near and Middle East". It said they would focus on the Iranian crisis and its security and economic repercussions for the region and the wider international community. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Paris on Monday for the two-day meeting. No readout or outcome from the Paris talks had been reported by Tuesday morning.
What Trump said after the White House meeting
Al Thani wrote on X on Monday: "Grateful for the positive discussions on reaching a deal and bringing peace to the region." Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US was "seeing positive momentum toward an end to this Conflict". At a White House briefing he said: "Iran militarily is effectively over. We're just keeping it the status quo, and we're doing that really at the behest of countries that are their neighbours." He also said the US was "locked and loaded, ready to go for any reason." Reuters reported that he plans to hold off on new strikes for the time being after appeals from regional countries, including Qatar's prime minister.
Rubio had struck a different note on Sunday 8 November. He said he "wouldn't say we're on the verge of a breakthrough" (Crisis.Zone report). Iran's Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, told Washington on X to stop "manufacturing FAKE NEWS about imaginary talks". Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei defended Iran's two-day plan as the most reasonable offer on the table and said Tehran is talking to Qatar and Pakistan.
Observers are reading: how the blockade, Task Force Iron Gate and Saudi exposure explain why "restraint" and "no breakthrough" can both be true.
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What to watch
No outcome from Paris had been reported by Tuesday morning, and the Qatari draft remains unagreed. Three markers matter. The first is whether any readout names a timeline or a US response to Iran's two-day plan. The second is Iran's reaction, given Rezaei's "imaginary talks" line. The third is whether the White House banks the Qatari paper or the military option prevails. US media reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper are pressing Trump to resume attacks. Axios quoted a US official saying CENTCOM is awaiting orders. Trump called further strikes "quite unlikely".
Updates
10 November 2026, 19:47 CET
Qatar's prime minister met the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Saudi Arabia in Paris on Tuesday in a meeting hosted by France's Jean-Noel Barrot that lasted less than an hour. According to two European diplomats cited by Reuters, Sheikh Mohammed expressed cautious optimism after his Washington talks that a diplomatic solution was still possible; The National reported that the visit was positively received by G7 observers.
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