DUBAI, United Arab Emirates. Conflicting reports have come up about what happens next in U. S.-Iran diplomacy, not sure yet. President Donald Trump said on social media that Tehran asked for a meeting, but a senior Iranian negotiator quickly denied that any more conversations have been lined up. The diplomatic friction follows a weekend, of military strikes across the Persian Gulf which threatened to throw off a fragile interim peace deal.
Conflicting Timelines for Doha Talks
According to President Trump, U. S. and Iranian counterparts are set meet Tuesday in Doha, Qatar. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential advisor Jared Kushner is traveling to Qatar for the scheduled talks, yes.
But Kazem Gharibabadi, a senior Iranian negotiator, pushed back on that description. In comments to the state-run IRNA news agency, Gharibabadi said that reports about upcoming technical working groups in Doha “are not confirmed” , without much detail.
Meanwhile, Pakistan, which is acting as a crucial mediator together with Qatar, said the discussions would resume indeed on Tuesday.
A Fragile Truce in a Vital Waterway
The diplomatic confusion comes right after four days of retaliatory strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime chokepoint where about 20% of the world’s oil moved prior to the war breaking out on February 28.
- The catalyst: well the recent friction started when Iran twice targeted vessels in the strait, after attempts were made to open Oman’s territorial waters for Persian Gulf traffic.
- Escalation: On Sunday, Iran rolled out drone and missile attacks against Bahrain and Kuwait, which then triggered retaliatory U. S. airstrikes.
- Current status: By Monday, both sides looked like they had paused live hostilities. A U. S. official speaking under a condition of anonymity said that Washington is working on the belief that both nations are easing off, and that commercial shipping can for the time being resume safely.
The underlying interim understanding, brokered earlier this month, gives both countries, a 60-day window to do talks for a larger accord. Under the present terms it goes that Iran has to reduce and dilute its enriched uranium inventory in return for the removal of U. S.-supported sanctions, plus the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The $6 Billion Dispute
Adding to the complexity, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian publicly praised the interim deal on Monday, and he called it a “great victory” . He also claimed that $6 billion out of the $12 billion frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar would soon be released.
At the same time, a U. S. official said Qatar plans to release the $6 billion but only so Iran can acquire U. S. food products. Still, American officials maintain that no money has actually been transferred, not yet. Qatar has not confirmed the transaction, and this gets more complicated because Iran attacked a tanker carrying Qatari crude oil over the weekend.
Regional Developments: Transit Fees and the Israel-Lebanon Border
In related regional news:
- Strait of Hormuz Fees: Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said Oman and Iran are in discussions about charging commercial ships service fees for passing through the Strait of Hormuz, to help cover costs tied to safety, pollution control, and emergency response. Still, Albusaidi stressed that Oman firmly refuses any international transit tariffs, since those are legally banned.
- Lebanon Deployment: In Beirut, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced plans to place national troops along the southern border after a framework agreement was signed with Israel. The concept, which calls for the disarming of the Iran backed militant group Hezbollah before any Israeli withdrawal, has been strongly opposed by Hezbollah leadership, they warn it could ignite a civil war.
