Iran said Tuesday it has no plans to meet senior U.S. envoys who arrived in the Gulf for talks aimed at salvaging a fragile ceasefire, raising fresh doubts over Washington’s push for a broader peace agreement after months of hostilities.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Doha for what the White House described as “high-level” discussions. But both Iran and host Qatar said the visiting U.S. officials would meet mediators, not Iranian representatives directly.
“No meeting at any level with the American side has been scheduled for the coming days,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
The two sides are expected to begin lower-level technical talks, but Iranian officials said the terms of a ceasefire signed two weeks ago must be clarified before negotiations can move to larger disputes, including possible limits on Iran’s nuclear program.
The latest comments show how far apart Washington and Tehran remain on key elements of the proposed framework. The plan calls for Iran to ease its grip on the Strait of Hormuz in return for financial incentives, while opening a 60-day negotiation period toward a permanent deal.
Iran, however, signaled it has no intention of giving up control over the strategic waterway, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the war erupted on February 28.
Shipping has partially resumed through the strait, but Iranian officials said Tehran would continue to manage traffic alongside Oman, which lies across the waterway. They also said Iran plans to impose tolls in mid-August, when the 60-day negotiation window expires.
“The sovereignty of the Strait of Hormuz lies with Iran and Oman, and traffic in the Strait is subject to arrangements determined by Iran,” Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf, said on state television.
Oil prices have eased since the weekend, when the United States bombed Iranian military facilities after drone attacks on commercial ships. Iran later struck U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain.
The U.N. trade and development agency warned Tuesday that vulnerable economies could still face food and fuel price pressure, even if energy markets begin to stabilize.
The conflict has pushed up global inflation and placed political pressure on Trump ahead of November’s midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have urged gasoline retailers to lower prices.
The interim U.S.-Iran deal also includes provisions aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.
But Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, cast doubt on a separate U.S.-brokered framework between Lebanon and Israel. Analysts warned that linking an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon to Hezbollah’s disarmament could leave the conflict frozen in a prolonged stalemate.
