Middle East Today | The National

Iran has sent the US a nuclear proposal via Qatar, a senior Iranian official told Reuters, adding that it would be discussed once Washington meets Tehran's seven demands. The official, ⁠who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US was reviewing the proposal but declined to provide further details. Why it matters: The move comes as mediators step up efforts to end the war between Iran and the US amid fears of renewed hostilities after the US midterm elections.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he would soon decide whether to resume the war with Iran or pursue an agreement, after meeting his national security advisers. "Now we will make a decision," he told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. "Do we want to go further? I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I will have to. You’ll know soon enough."
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iran's top security official Mohsen Rezaei at the Kremlin, Iranian state media reported yesterday, after Tehran's negotiators met with mediators to discuss proposals to end hostilities with the US. Mr Rezaei delivered a message from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to Putin, state media said.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a video message overnight vowing to ⁠fight efforts in Congress to impeach him and defending the Iran war as “courageous and historic” after ⁠voters punished Republicans for it in this week’s midterm elections.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, stressed the need to advance diplomatic efforts to promote security and stability in the region during a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Mr Araghchi also discussed in separate phone calls with his Saudi and Qatari counterparts ⁠the "latest progress" in diplomatic ⁠efforts ‌aimed at establishing stability in the region, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
Oil pushed higher again this morning after rebounding on Thursday from a sharp sell-off triggered by the Democratic sweep of the US midterm elections. Brent traded near $100 a barrel after closing almost 4 percent higher in the previous session, while US West Texas Intermediate rose 0.84 per cent to $91.28 a barrel. Sign up to the Energy This Week newsletter for more updates and analysis.

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Former British prime minister and Board of Peace senior envoy Tony Blair met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, as part of efforts to advance President Trump’s Gaza peace plan, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. Mr Blair is also expected to meet Yashar party leader and main rival to Mr Netanyahu Gadi Eisenkot today.
Turkey's parliament has ratified the defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, clearing the way for Nato's second-largest military to support the countries if they come under attack. Under the Makkah agreement, signed by the three regional powers in August and sent for parliament's approval last month, an attack on one party constitutes an attack ‌on all.
President Trump's administration held secret talks with Tehran, before the war and after it began, about deporting Iranians, AP reported. Unsealed court documents showed that the administration, as recently as mid-October, said it had plans to deport the Iranians through an unidentified third country.
A Jordanian policeman was killed and another injured in what authorities described as a "cowardly terrorist attack" in the capital Amman yesterday. A police patrol intervened, subdued the attacker and arrested him, the Public Security Directorate said in a statement.

Asian stock markets tumbled on Friday as a technology-led sell-off on Wall Street spread to the region, with investors increasingly concerned that political shifts in the US could threaten the artificial intelligence investment boom.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held talks in Kazakhstan during King Abdullah’s official visit, pledging to expand co-operation in trade, investment, tourism, technology and defence, according to statements from the Kazakh presidency.
A Syrian woman was killed when the Lebanese Army opened fire at a vehicle that refused to stop on the Syrian-Lebanese border.