Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Doha for indirect discussions through Qatari mediators as Washington and Tehran work through implementation of an interim agreement.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Two U.S. envoys arrived in Qatar on Tuesday for meetings with mediators as Washington and Tehran continue working through the implementation of an interim agreement aimed at ending the war with Iran.
Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, traveled to Doha after a weekend of military exchanges in the Persian Gulf tied to efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic.
Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, said the U.S. envoys are not expected to hold direct talks with Iranian diplomats while in Doha. Instead, Qatari mediators are serving as go-betweens between the two sides.
Al-Ansari said the talks are technical in nature and do not currently involve high-level officials.
“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 reporters during a weekly news conference.
Indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States have occurred before. Two previous rounds collapsed before the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in 2025 and the more recent Iran war.
Iran is also sending a delegation to Qatar this week. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tuesday that Tehran had no plans for direct meetings 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 reporters.
His remarks left open the possibility that messages could still be relayed through Qatari mediators.
The United States and Iran agreed earlier this month to an interim deal that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of enriched uranium. The agreement also waives U.S.-backed oil sanctions on Iran, calls for free movement through the Strait of Hormuz and gives both sides 60 days to negotiate broader arrangements.
Before the war began Feb. 28, about one-fifth of the world’s oil moved through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian attacks and threats halted cargo ships and tankers moving through the waterway, contributing to a global energy crisis.
The strait has long been treated as an international waterway, despite running through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.
The latest diplomatic push comes after the United States and Iran exchanged strikes last week during efforts to open Oman’s side of the strait to both inbound and outbound shipping from the Persian Gulf.
Those clashes raised concerns that negotiations to formally end the war could be derailed.
Iran twice attacked vessels in the strait, including a tanker carrying Qatari crude, prompting retaliatory U.S. airstrikes. Iran also launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait.
The Doha meetings are expected to focus on technical implementation of the interim memorandum, including shipping access, sanctions relief and the release of blocked Iranian assets.
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