DOHA, Qatar: Iran-US talks stalled Tuesday after Tehran said it would not meet U.S. envoys in Doha. As a result, efforts to turn a fragile ceasefire into a lasting deal were clouded.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said no meeting with the American side had been scheduled for the coming days.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Doha for talks. The White House described these talks as high-level.
Iran and Qatar said the U.S. envoys would meet mediators rather than Iranian officials. Qatar said Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani was among the officials who met Kushner and Witkoff.
Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, said lower-level technical talks were due to begin.
Iranian officials said both sides still needed to settle ceasefire terms before moving to harder issues. These harder issues include limits on Iran’s nuclear programme.
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The initial framework calls for Iran to ease its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for financial incentives. It also calls for 60 days of negotiations.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf, told state television that Iran and Oman held sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
Qalibaf said traffic in the waterway was subject to arrangements determined by Iran. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Iran would not be allowed to collect tolls from ships passing through the international waterway.
Shipping had partially resumed through the strait. Before the war began on February 28, it handled one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.
