Qatar reports US-Iran talks breakthrough as Khamenei warns of unlimited retaliation

Qatari-linked reports say Washington and Tehran have agreed preliminary steps on Iran's nuclear programme, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and sanctions relief, with direct talks possible in Doha and China and Russia as guarantors. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei meanwhile ordered forces to answer any threat immediately and without geographical limits, days before the US midterm elections and a possible renewed US bombing campaign. The outcome will decide whether the Iran war is contained by diplomacy or widens across the region, drawing in Israel and US forces.