On Monday, President Donald Trump announced plans to send a delegation to meet with Iranian officials in Doha, Qatar, scheduled for Tuesday. This comes after Iran reportedly expressed interest in restarting discussions.
The confirmation from Trump, shared on his social platform Truth Social, follows reports from unnamed sources about the upcoming talks. This announcement also occurs after a tumultuous weekend marked by exchanges of fire between the Pentagon’s Central Command (CENTCOM) and Iranian forces, raising alarms about a ceasefire agreed upon almost two weeks earlier. The recent violence started on Friday when the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)—designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization—attacked a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The Revolutionary Guards had previously warned commercial ships to avoid specific shipping lanes established by the Omani government and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which subsequently closed the route after the incident.
Trump’s announcement about the Doha meeting was brief and lacked detail on the agenda.
“Iran has requested a meeting. It will be held tomorrow in Doha!” he stated.
Following the news of the meeting, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt indicated that special envoy for the Middle East Witkoff and Jared Kushner would be part of the U.S. team in Qatar.
Leavitt also noted that there would be technical discussions alongside the high-level meetings. She emphasized, “As far as we are concerned, we are upholding the end of the ceasefire. Violence will be met with violence… There was an attack on a commercial vessel and the United States, under the direction of President Trump, responded.”
Regarding military actions after the Revolutionary Guards’ strike on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM reported that their response targeted various Iranian military capabilities.
CENTCOM has tracked attacks attributed to Iran, including incidents involving Panamanian-flagged and Singapore-flagged vessels operating in the area.
“Following the attack on the M/V Everlovely, Iran was invited to keep the ceasefire, but this morning at 4:30 a.m. ET, they did not take that opportunity. Iranian forces launched a drone strike that hit the M/T Kiku,” CENTCOM explained, noting that the impacted tanker was carrying a significant amount of crude oil.
In a warning via Truth Social after the airstrikes, Trump stated that repeated Iranian aggression could jeopardize the peace agreement established in mid-June and reignite prior conflicts.
“U.S. aircraft just attacked Iranian missile and drone storage sites for violating the cease-fire agreement! There is a very good chance they will never learn!” Trump remarked. He suggested that a breaking point might come when military action could be unavoidable against Iran.
In response to recent attacks, Iran fired missiles toward Bahrain and Kuwait, both of which maintain positive relations with the U.S. Reports indicated that while there were no injuries, there was damage to at least one building. However, hours later, news emerged via Axios that Iran and the U.S. had agreed to cease hostilities and that talks were, in fact, arranged for Tuesday.
The National reported on Monday that Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Ghalibabadi claimed just before confirming the meeting that no technical talks with the U.S. were scheduled for this week. He insisted discussions were ongoing in Qatar but were not directly involving the U.S. delegation, an assertion supported by Iran’s state news agency.
“The first round of technical consultations within the defined working groups will commence once the necessary conditions are met, and dates and venues are agreed upon,” he commented.
IRNA added that speculation about a potential technical meeting involving Iran, the U.S., and mediators related to the ceasefire was circulating in the media.
Ghalibabadi also mentioned his recent visit to Oman, noting that they were collaborating with Iran to develop strategies for managing maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S.-Iran memorandum states that Iran must allow free navigation in the strait without tolls for at least 60 days.
