US-Iran War Talks to Resume in Qatar as Tensions Mount

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US President Donald Trump has announced that Iran has requested a meeting to take place in Qatar on Tuesday, despite Tehran's earlier denial of any technical talks. The meeting is set to resume talks on the US-Iran deal, which aims to end the Middle East war. The deal was signed earlier this month after a Pakistan-brokered agreement to stop the war, which had strained the agreement.

Iran's exercise of control over the Strait of Hormuz has sparked repeated flare-ups, with the latest incident occurring early on Sunday when US Central Command said it had attacked 10 Iranian military targets over "continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping." Iran retaliated with strikes against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. The blockade remains a key sticking point in the US negotiations.

Iran and Oman border the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passed prior to the conflict. Iran said on Monday they held their first talks since the deal was struck, calling the meeting "the first meeting of the Joint Hormuz Committee." The committee aims to manage the strait and negotiate the terms of its passage.

Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, denied reports that technical talks were "planned for this week" on state TV. However, a US official told AFP that the negotiations would continue despite the recent strikes. Both sides have agreed to halt their attacks, which had strained the agreement and snarled the flow of oil and gas shipments through the vital Hormuz strait.

The published text of the memorandum of understanding says Iran will define the future administration of the strait in dialogue with Oman and the other Gulf States, but "in line" with international law. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they were taking measures to control traffic in the strait and that vessels violating those measures would be dealt with more firmly than before.

Mohammad Mokhber, adviser to Iran's supreme leader, wrote on X that as long as Iran managed the strait, Washington's "hegemonic dreams in the region will not be realised." Experts said there would likely be more Hormuz incidents. For Iran, "a drawn-out negotiation accompanied by controlled pressure in the strait can work to its advantage," said HA Hellyer of the Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank.

Qatar has played a key role alongside Pakistan in mediating a conclusion to the conflict, with the most recent discussions between Tehran and Washington taking place on June 21 with all four countries in attendance. The meeting is set to take place in the Qatari capital, Doha, and will involve high-level officials from both countries.

Iran has requested a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who will be flying to Doha for high-level meetings this week, according to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.