Diplomacy over the Middle East war hit a snag on Thursday morning, with Tehran dismissing Qatar's latest mediation ideas, while Bitcoin slipped back below $80,000 and Israel's election count edged to 90% with the deadlock unchanged. Here is what matters from the latest news digest.
Qatar mediation draft dismissed as "unacceptable ideas"
Qatar, with Pakistan mediating alongside it, presented Iran with a new seven-day draft deal on Sunday aimed at ending the war with the United States and Israel, according to an official briefed on the negotiations. The draft sets out daily confidence-building steps for both Tehran and Washington, with several countries acting as guarantors, and a timeline that could begin early next week if both sides agree.
However, a senior Iranian official involved in the talks said Doha had put forward only "unacceptable ideas and not an offer", and that Tehran's position of showing no flexibility on the nuclear issue remained unchanged. Iran's response is expected by the end of the week. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also warned that any new Israeli-led attack would have a "devastating" impact on international markets, underlining why the diplomatic track matters far beyond the region.
Bitcoin falls below $80,000 as post-FOMC rebound stalls
Bitcoin fell below $80,000 on Thursday morning, with live Finnhub data putting it at $79,846, down 1.62% from an open of $81,160 and an intraday low of $79,710. TokenPost recorded $79,975 on Binance spot trading, after $80,154 just fifteen minutes earlier, showing how quickly the level gave way.
The move ended a brief post-FOMC rebound above $81,000. Market commentary noted consolidation around $81,000 to $81,200, with support at $80,700 to $81,000 failing to hold. Ether also eased to around $2,304 to $2,312, down from about $2,357 earlier in the morning.
Israel count reaches 90%, deadlock unchanged
Israel's vote count reached 90%, with the seat picture unchanged: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc on 53 seats, Gadi Eisenkot's bloc on 48, and the Arab parties on 19. Neither bloc is close to the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, with final results due on November 4.
Around 300 people protested in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa in favour of a Jewish-Arab government, a reminder of the coalition arithmetic now facing both blocs as talks over forming a government continue.
No new delisting or tariff moves — but a busy day tomorrow
There were no new spot-exchange delisting announcements and no new general China-US or UK tariff moves in this digest. The searches turned up only items already tracked: Binance's removal of 12 spot pairs and 10 margin pairs on October 30, the EPIC and QUICK delistings already executed on October 28, and a Brazil licence filing deadline on October 30.
On trade, comments on the US Trade Representative's shipping-fee suspension are also due tomorrow, October 30. For online sellers sourcing from China, that deadline remains the one to watch, since shipping fees feed directly into landed costs.
Market snapshot
Bitcoin traded at about $79,846, down 1.62%, with Ether at about $2,304 to $2,312. Oil was softer on Thursday morning, with Brent at roughly $114 to $114.90 and West Texas Intermediate at about $101.74, after Wednesday's closes of $115.32 and $102.78. The key data point later today is US GDP and PCE inflation figures, due at 17:30 Pakistan time.
Watch: today's video briefings
Sources
- Qatar mediation draft and Iran's response — Reuters, reported by BusinessWorld and Indian Express, October 29: BusinessWorld report
- Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's remarks on diplomacy and markets — reported by Prothom Alo and Gulf News, October 29
- Bitcoin and Ether prices — Finnhub live data and TokenPost (Binance spot), October 29: TokenPost report
- Israel election count at 90% — Times Now live coverage, October 29, 08:15 IST
- Exchange and trade watch items — tracked announcements for October 30 (Binance pair removals, Brazil licence filing, USTR shipping-fee comments)
