Trump Announces Qatar Meeting With Iran After U.S.-Iran Strikes Over Strait of Hormuz

Uncertainty has clouded the next step in U.S.-Iran negotiations after both sides offered conflicting messages about whether key negotiators will meet in Qatar, where plans for a meeting were originally scheduled for Switzerland before changing following renewed U.S.-Iran strikes over the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday that a meeting would take place in Qatar’s capital on Tuesday at Tehran’s request, writing: "IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!”

ABC News

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the trip bore no connection to the U.S. delegation and asserted, “There are no negotiation meetings with the U.S. side at any level scheduled in the coming days,”.

The interim deal that Iran and the United States signed calls for Iran to make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa, but the negotiations have been dominated by the Strait of Hormuz after Iran attacked a container ship transiting the waterway on Thursday and triggered a four-day exchange of strikes with the U.S.

As U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Doha, Qatar said mediators would handle the talks and that no direct, high-level U.S.-Iran meetings were currently underway, with technical delegations continuing instead.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said, “Instead, mediators are working for the time being as go-betweens for the talks, which won't include any high-level officials, he added.”

Al Jazeera

Iran’s top negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said on state TV that Iran is “currently not negotiating with the United States at all,” and warned Tehran would not enter further negotiations until the conditions of the memorandum of understanding are met.

Qalibaf also stressed that passage without cost in the strait is only for 60 days per MoU, while the Trump administration insisted passage through the strait remains toll free, and the interim framework set 60 days for negotiations toward a permanent peace deal.

The dispute over the Strait of Hormuz remains central to the negotiations as Iran says it will control traffic and impose tolls when the 60-day period expires, while shipping has partially resumed after the interim agreement.

“President Donald Trump says a meeting will take place between Iran and the United States in Qatar on Tuesday, suggesting that diplomacy is still on track despite the recent military skirmishes in the Gulf”

Al Jazeera

Iran’s top negotiator Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf said on state TV, “The sovereignty of the Strait of Hormuz lies with Iran and Oman, and traffic in the Strait is subject to arrangements determined by Iran,”.

U.S. and Iranian officials also linked the diplomatic track to broader ceasefire questions, with the interim deal providing for an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, while Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri cast doubt on a separate U.S.-brokered framework deal.

The stakes extend to global energy and domestic politics, with the Reuters report saying the war pushed up global inflation and put Trump under political pressure before midterm elections in November that will determine control of the U.S. Congress, even as oil prices fell after the weekend’s exchange of strikes.