U.S. and Iranian officials are expected to hold talks in Qatar on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said, in the latest effort to stabilize a fragile cease-fire after the two sides exchanged strikes over the weekend. Iran did not confirm the meeting but said consultations with Qatar were continuing. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Doha for the discussions. The talks follow an earlier memorandum of understanding meant to halt hostilities, though major issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, remain unresolved.
The diplomacy comes amid continued uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for global oil and gas shipments. A U.S. official said Washington and Tehran had agreed to halt attacks and allow commercial vessels to move freely through the waterway, but Tehran did not immediately confirm that arrangement. Shipping traffic fell sharply over the weekend, with Kpler data showing 22 ships transiting on Sunday, down from 48 on Friday. U.S. officials said Iran attacked a cargo ship on Thursday and another vessel on Saturday, prompting retaliatory American strikes, while Iran’s military said it had responded by targeting a U.S. naval base in Bahrain and a Kuwaiti air base with drones and missiles.
Disagreement over the meaning of the interim deal has become a central point of friction. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran alone was responsible for managing the strait and warned that efforts to route ships through nearby Omani waters would complicate reopening it. Washington has rejected the idea that Iran has sole authority over passage through the waterway, arguing that commercial navigation must continue without obstruction. Vice President JD Vance presented the earlier round of negotiations in Switzerland as progress, saying they had established a framework for keeping the strait open, coordinating a Lebanon cease-fire, advancing technical talks and addressing international nuclear inspections. Iran’s Foreign Ministry, however, denied that it had accepted new nuclear commitments.
The wider diplomatic picture is also shaped by Qatar’s role as mediator and by questions surrounding its ties to Tehran. Qatar has helped facilitate contacts between Washington and Iran, but a report citing a foreign intelligence assessment alleged that Doha has aided Iran economically and militarily for years, including through trade and transfers of dual-use materials. Separately, Qatar said one of its citizens was found dead on a vessel after being struck by shrapnel from military activity in the region, underscoring the spillover risks for Gulf states trying to contain the crisis. Oil prices rose modestly on Monday, with Brent crude near $73 a barrel, while analysts continued to question whether the United States and Iran could translate the current pause in fighting into a lasting agreement.