President Donald Trump announced that the United States and Iran will hold talks on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar. The meetings follow an agreement to halt a series of tit-for-tat attacks in the Strait of Hormuz that had threatened to collapse a ceasefire and derail peace efforts.
The White House stated that US envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner will lead the negotiating team. These talks are intended to advance an interim deal agreed upon earlier this month and resolve the dispute over the crucial waterway. A US official confirmed that both nations have agreed to stand down and pause their attacks to allow vessels to move through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran has provided conflicting signals regarding the meetings. While Iran confirmed a delegation would travel to Doha to discuss the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding, its foreign ministry denied that any negotiation meetings with the American side were scheduled. Simultaneously, a top Iranian official reiterated the country's determination to maintain control over maritime traffic moving through the strait.
The scheduled technical talks come after a period of escalating hostilities in which each side launched attacks and accused the other of violating their agreement. President Trump claimed that Iran requested the meeting as the two sides seek to end their war and preserve a fragile interim deal.