U.S. and Iran meet with mediators in Qatar

U.S. and Iranian negotiators were in Qatar on Tuesday as both sides were set to hold talks with mediators, after a surge of attacks in recent days over the Strait of Hormuz threatened to derail efforts to agree on a lasting peace deal.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers, were to meet with the prime minister of the Persian Gulf state, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a U.S. official said. The official added that the U.S. and Iranian delegations would hold separate talks with Qatari and Pakistani mediators today.

Iran and Qatar said no direct, high-level meetings between the U.S. and Iranian officials were planned and that the discussions would instead be conducted via Qatari intermediaries. The negotiations would focus on implementing the preliminary ceasefire deal reached two weeks ago, the spokespeople for both countries’ foreign ministries said separately.

The absence of face-to-face talks underscores the depth of the distrust between the United States and Iran, after negotiators met in Switzerland in June. The meetings follow a dayslong flare-up of hostilities over the strait, a key transit route for oil and gas shipments that Iran effectively blockaded during the war.

The preliminary ceasefire largely deferred discussion of the toughest topics, including Iran’s nuclear program and U.S. sanctions on Iran, and allotted 60 days for the countries to reach a comprehensive, long-term deal. But the two sides have been unable to agree even on the meaning of the ceasefire agreement.

U.S. officials also hoped that the pact would lead to the full reopening of the strait to its prewar status, when ships transited for free. Iran, however, has insisted that the agreement gives it substantial authority over the waterway and has threatened ships that do not travel on Iranian-mandated routes.

Iran and Oman, a U.S. ally, are advancing a plan to collect payments for ships moving through the strait, despite U.S. objections, according to an Iranian official and four diplomats with knowledge of the matter.

The latest round of hostilities began Thursday when the U.S. military said Iran had attacked a cargo ship hours after Iran warned that vessels could only travel through its waters in the strait. The ship was transiting through an alternative route near the Omani coast.

U.S. officials also blamed Iran for another attack Saturday. The U.S. retaliated by striking what it said were Iranian military sites, and Iran responded by carrying out drone and missile strikes against U.S. targets in Bahrain and a Kuwait.

The clashes ended Sunday, but neither side has publicly acceded to the other’s demands on the strait.