US President Donald Trump said Iran requested talks and that a meeting would take place in Doha on Tuesday. The White House said his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, would travel to Qatar for high-level meetings, while technical discussions would take place on the sidelines.
Iran denied any negotiations were planned. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran's technical delegation would travel to Doha only to follow up on implementing the deal signed by Tehran and Washington on June 17. The visit had "no relation" to any meeting with US officials, he added.
Here's what we know:
- Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha."
- Speaking later in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said: "The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not. We're going to find out," while adding that "we're winning militarily". He repeated that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner would travel to Doha for high-level meetings and that "on the sidelines of those high-level talks, there will be the technical talks" focused on the initial deal. She added that the US believed it was honouring the ceasefire with Iran and warned that any further attacks on commercial ships in the region would be met with force.
- Mr Baghaei said: "We will not have any negotiation meetings at any level with the American side in the coming days." He added that the Iranian delegation would instead monitor the implementation of the interim agreement, including US commitments on oil exports and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
- The future of the Strait of Hormuz remains a major point of contention. French President Emmanuel Macron said his country and Oman had agreed to work with partners on demining the waterway to ensure free and unconditional navigation.
- Iran swiftly rejected the proposal. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said demining could be carried out "solely by Iran and by no other country" under the interim deal with the US. He warned France against taking steps to "complicate" the situation.
- But the text of the deal does not explicitly assign exclusive responsibility for demining to Iran or rule out involvement by other parties. It says: “The traffic of commercial vessels will immediately start, and considering the need for removing the technical and military obstacles, and demining by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will be instated within 30 days.”
- Oman has taken a different approach, saying it remains committed to keeping the strait open, safe and governed by international law. Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi said Muscat was against imposing transit fees on ships using the route, although it supported voluntary payments for navigation and environmental services.
- Oman and Iran also held the first meeting of a joint committee in Muscat to discuss closer co-ordination on managing the strait, navigation services and other maritime issues, emphasising the importance of the waterway as diplomacy continues.
