Indirect technical talks between the US and Iran were under way in Doha on Wednesday, with the release of frozen Iranian assets and the Strait of Hormuz the central issues.
The focus of the talks is implementation of the interim deal between Tehran and Washington, Iran's deputy foreign minister said.
A senior Iranian official said talks have been taking place in Dohasince Tuesday night. The discussions addressed the release of funds to Tehran and the future of the Strait of Hormuz, they added.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim met White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Doha on Wednesday, the Qatari royal court said.
Sheikh Tamim reaffirmed Qatar's commitment, alongside Pakistan, to mediation efforts and support for all negotiation tracks stemming from the agreement. The royal court said the talks also addressed the situation in Lebanon, with both sides stressing the importance of consolidating the ceasefire there.
It said the US envoys thanked Qatar and Pakistan for their mediation efforts and reaffirmed US commitment to continuing negotiations and diplomatic efforts towards a comprehensive agreement.
Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner met Qatar's prime minister on Tuesday to lay the groundwork for the negotiations, which are being mediated by Qatar and Pakistan. They are not attending the talks.
US President Donald Trump said the US was getting along very well with Iran and the meetings in Qatar had gone well.
“The denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well … the stock market is setting records virtually every day,” Mr Trump said. “The oil price is way down … lower than when I started the attack on Iran so that they'd never have a nuclear weapon.
“We're getting along very well,” Mr Trump said, before adding Iran has “come a long way. I think they're fine.”
Ahead of the discussions, Tehran said no direct meetings with US officials were planned in the coming days. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said talks with Qatar would review how the interim US-Iran deal was being implemented. He said steps to release Iran’s frozen funds were under way, but stressed that key financial provisions remained unresolved.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al Ansari, said about $6 billion in Iranian assets held in Qatar had not yet been transferred to Tehran, highlighting one of the most sensitive elements of the arrangement.
On Wednesday, Iran said one of its senior negotiators, Kazem Gharibabadi, had met Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, in Doha to discuss the implementation of the interim deal to end the conflict. The talks focused on obstacles to carrying out the agreement and ways to speed up the implementation of provisions related to Lebanon.
The negotiations come after weeks of heightened tensions and renewed flare-ups in the Strait of Hormuz.
Qatar has positioned itself as a key intermediary. Its Prime Minister met Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner in Doha on Tuesday to discuss the interim US-Iran framework and broader regional developments, including the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon.
Hormuz is Iran's 'greatest instrument of power'
Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday that a foreign ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz after deviating from the navigation route designated by Iranian authorities.
The report said the ship “ran aground with its cargo because of shallow waters along the route it had chosen and was unable to continue sailing”.
The state TV report did not identify the vessel by name or specify where the incident took place.
Iran’s leading negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tehran would not enter talks on a final agreement with the US until Washington began implementing key parts of the June 17 interim deal.
He cited Clause 13, which ties the start of final negotiations on progress on earlier commitments. These include halting military operations, ensuring safe commercial passage through the Strait of Hormuz, issuing US waivers for Iranian crude exports and releasing Iranian assets that have been frozen.
Most of those steps appear to be in motion, except for the transfer of the frozen funds, which remains unresolved. The agreement sets out the basic ceasefire framework and states Iran, the US and their respective allies agree to stop hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.
Mr Ghalibaf said Iran and Oman had already “agreed on all legal and service-related matters” for maritime services in the strait, while stressing that Tehran would not accept any challenge to its sovereignty over the waterway.
In a televised interview, he called the strait Iran’s “greatest instrument of power”, warning against any attempt to “internationalise” its control.
Iran’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, however, is not without limits over time. Ali Vaez, Crisis Group's Iran director, has argued that while the waterway gives Tehran significant leverage, it also comes with a diminishing strategic return, noting that “there is an expiration date on this weapon of mass disruption” as its long-term utility as a deterrent weakens.
Iran and Oman have advanced a proposal shared with western governments for a voluntary fee system for ships transiting the strait, The New York Times reported. The idea would replace the traditional no-fee passage system, but has drawn criticism in Washington, where officials oppose any Iranian-led tolling mechanism.
US Vice President JD Vance rejected the idea, saying Iran should not be allowed to impose tolls on global shipping routes.
Iranian state television reported on Wednesday that a foreign vessel had run aground in the strait after straying from the navigation route designated by Iranian authorities. It said the ship became stuck in shallow water and reiterated an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warning that vessels should stick to a corridor south of Larak Island, which Tehran says is the sole approved transit route.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations reported a separate incident 140km south of Balhaf, Yemen, where a merchant ship was approached by several small craft carrying armed individuals.
The crew retreated to a secure citadel and remained safe, UKMTO said. The boat, with four people aboard armed with rocket-propelled grenades, later left the area but continued to pose a potential risk to shipping. The merchant vessel sustained minor damage.
Despite the tensions, Mr Ghalibaf said Iran had exported more than 40 million barrels of oil since the US restrictions on Iranian port access were lifted under the interim agreement.
“From the day we effectively lifted the blockade until today, we have exported more than 40 million barrels of oil … In the previous 40 days, we didn't export even a single barrel of oil,” he said.
Part of his televised interview was cut as he touched on sensitive issues, including Iran’s frozen assets and reconstruction financing.
Mr Ghalibaf reiterated that the billions in frozen funds would go directly to Iran’s central bank, dismissing US claims about how the money would be spent.
