US envoys reach Qatar as indirect Iran talks focus on Hormuz reopening

Dubai,UPDATED: Jun 30, 2026 18:06 IST

Two US envoys arrived in Qatar on Tuesday for talks with mediators on implementing an initial deal aimed at ending the war with Iran, according to an official. The discussions in Doha come after a weekend of crossfire in the Persian Gulf linked to efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.

Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special Middle East envoy, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, are not expected to hold direct talks with Iranian diplomats. Qatari officials said the discussions are being handled through mediators, with no high-level officials involved at this stage, even as technical contacts continue.

Majed al-Ansari, spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said the envoys would not be holding direct negotiations with Iranian diplomats in Doha. Instead, mediators are acting as go-betweens for now. "We're not expecting any high-level Iranian officials at the moment, but as I said, the technical meetings are ongoing ... and they haven't stopped since then," al-Ansari told journalists at a weekly news conference.

Indirect talks between Iran and the US have taken place before. But the previous two rounds collapsed into the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in 2025 and the recent Iran war. Iran is also sending a delegation to Qatar this week, though Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran had no plans for a meeting with the American side at any level in the coming days.

"What will take place in Doha tomorrow is a discussion with the Qatari side about implementing parts of the memorandum of understanding, including the release of Iran's blocked assets," Baghaei told journalists at his own briefing. His remarks still left open the possibility that messages could be passed to the Qataris between the two sides.

The US and Iran agreed to an interim deal earlier this month under which Tehran would dilute its stockpile of enriched uranium. The deal also waives US-backed oil sanctions on Iran, calls for free traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and gives both sides 60 days to work out broader agreements.

Before the war began on February 28, a fifth of the world's oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's attacks and threats halted the movement of cargo ships and tankers through the waterway, triggering a global energy crisis. The strait has long been regarded as an international waterway even though it lies within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.

Both sides traded strikes last week as efforts were under way to open Oman's territorial waters in the strait to inbound and outbound ship traffic from the Persian Gulf. Iran twice attacked vessels in the strait, including a tanker carrying Qatari crude, drawing retaliatory American airstrikes. Iran also launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday. Overall, the talks in Doha are focused on putting the interim deal into effect while indirect contacts continue amid tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.

With PTI Inputs

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