Trump says Iran requested Tuesday talks in Doha; Tehran denies any meeting is scheduled
President Trump announced that Iran had requested a meeting for Tuesday in Doha, but Iranian officials immediately denied any meeting was scheduled, casting the resumption of talks into uncertainty after a weekend of clashes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Conflicting accounts of a Doha meeting
On Monday, US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that "Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha." The announcement came hours after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Doha for high-level meetings this week, with technical negotiations taking place on the sidelines.
Iranian officials pushed back. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television that no technical working group meetings were planned for the current Iranian week, which ends Friday. He added that consultations through mediators would continue, but a meeting would only occur once conditions were met and agreement reached on the date and venue.
No technical working group meetings are scheduled for this week.
The conflicting signals followed a weekend report by Axios, citing a senior American official, that Washington and Tehran had agreed to suspend reciprocal attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and to hold a meeting on Tuesday in Doha.
Recent flare-up in the Strait
Hostilities erupted on Thursday when Iran attacked a Singapore-flagged vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The US described the incident as a violation of the existing memorandum of understanding and responded with retaliatory airstrikes against Iran. Tehran, in turn, accused Washington of breaching the ceasefire and launched attacks on US interests in the Middle East.
We decided to suspend all kinetic activity.
A second US official told Axios that both sides would halt hostilities "for the time being" and that ships would be free to move, while technical talks continue.
A fragile MoU under strain
The exchange threatened to unravel a provisional peace agreement. The memorandum of understanding, mediated by Pakistan, governs the management of the strategic waterway. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Sunday that responsibility for the strait rests solely with the Islamic Republic, adding that unilateral actions would only worsen the situation and delay reopening.
No other party or state is involved. This is perfectly clear in the memorandum of understanding, and any intervention or unilateral action will only worsen the situation and delay the reopening of the strait.
Iran has insisted the strait should be jointly managed by Tehran and Muscat, the two coastal states.
Timeline of escalation and diplomacy
- Iran attacks a Singapore-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
- US launches retaliatory airstrikes against Iran.
- Iran strikes US interests in the Middle East in response.
- US and Iran agree to suspend kinetic activity, Axios reports a Tuesday meeting in Doha.
- Trump claims Iran requested the meeting; Tehran denies any meeting is scheduled.
Oil markets and broader tensions
The renewed hostilities risk pushing oil prices higher, testing Trump's claims to voters that US inflation was easing. The president also floated the idea of Syria fighting Hezbollah, though the Syrian president reportedly has no interest. The White House is meanwhile distancing itself from Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
