Iran Rejects Qatari Ideas as "Unacceptable" While War Costs Climb and Israel Faces Electoral Deadlock

A senior Iranian official on Wednesday denied that Qatar had given Tehran a new peace proposal, saying the mediators had instead brought ideas Iran considers "unacceptable," the Reuters news agency reported.

The denial followed an earlier Reuters report, also published Wednesday, that cited an official briefed on the negotiations. That report said Qatari mediators had handed Iran a new draft deal to end the war on Sunday, and that Tehran was weighing it and was expected to respond by the end of the week. The same source said there had been concern in Tehran before Sunday's meeting that Israel might resume bombing Iran this week.

Rejecting the idea that a fresh proposal had been delivered, the Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran would show no flexibility on the nuclear issue.

Separately, the financial toll of the conflict continues to grow. An estimate from U.S. Central Command, obtained by CBS News on Tuesday, puts the cost of the war to the U.S. military at roughly $47 billion, or at least $47.1 billion as of mid-October. As with earlier estimates, the figure leaves out damage to American military bases in the Middle East. The largest share, $29 billion, goes toward replacing munitions that have been used.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a September analysis that the war could cost approximately $2 billion to $3 billion per month for as long as it continues.

In Israel, voters went to the polls Tuesday in a national election overshadowed by the war with Iran. Exit polls from the country's major television networks projected that a majority of Israelis voted against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. His Likud party nevertheless appeared to be the largest single party, and neither his bloc nor the opposition had a clear majority.

According to the early exit polls, Netanyahu seems to have won fewer votes than his main challenger, but both are expected to have difficulty assembling a governing coalition. Either side would need the backing of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset to form a government.

Israel's two Arab parties won more seats than in any previous election. Some Arab voters told CBS News the period under Netanyahu's hard-right government had been difficult for their community, which they said contributed to a historic turnout.

Both Netanyahu and his opponents have pledged not to form a government that depends on Arab parties. They argue that doing so would endanger the country if those parties gained enough seats to influence how Israel handles its many conflicts. Arab citizens make up around 20% of Israel's population.