Iran and the U.S. announced yesterday, Monday, that talks between their delegations in Qatar are expected to begin later today, following the exchange of strikes over the past few days; however, Tehran referred to technical-level contacts, not direct negotiations with the opposing side, while Washington spoke of “high-level meetings.”

According to a U.S. official who spoke to Agence France-Presse, the two sides decided to halt the exchange of blows that had been taking place despite the signing of an agreement in principle between them—the “memorandum of understanding”— in mid-June, with the aim of ending the war in the Middle East.

And U.S. President Donald Trump announced via Truth Social—in all capital letters—that “Iran has requested a meeting” and “it will take place tomorrow (i.e., today, Tuesday) in Doha!”

Shortly afterward, White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt told Fox News that the president’s envoys, Steve Whitecoff and Jared Kushner, are traveling to the emirate to “participate in high-level meetings” later this week.

A diplomatic source familiar with the matter confirmed to AFP that a meeting of “technical teams will take place in the coming days,” adding that these now “serve as operational channels of communication to de-escalate incidents.”

Tensions over the Strait of Hormuz

After initially denying that any meeting would take place, Iranian diplomats later confirmed on Monday that they are sending a “delegation of experts” to Doha this week. However, “in the coming days, we will not negotiate with the American side at any level,” insisted Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Tensions are centered on the management of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, where traffic returned to a standstill over the weekend following two attacks on ships.

In total, 29 ships carrying raw materials passed through the strait on Saturday and another 12 on Sunday, according to data from the ship-tracking company Kpler; numbers much lower than those of previous days.

Tehran has been reiterating for weeks, despite Washington’s opposition, that the strait will not return to its pre-war state, when passage through it was free. And it is threatening ships that attempt to bypass the designated route.

Since last Thursday, two ships have been struck by missiles of unknown origin—the U.S. military attributed the attacks to Tehran and, two days later, bombed Iran. The Islamic Republic retaliated by launching missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles against its neighbors in the Gulf, particularly Kuwait and Bahrain.

The resurgence of hostilities threatened to lead to the collapse of the preliminary agreement signed by the presidents of the two countries on June 17.

Service Fees

Iran and Oman say they will exercise their sovereign rights regarding passage through the strait and are preparing to impose fees for the service provided.

However, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted in 1982, but which Tehran has not ratified, guarantees the right of “transit” through straits that serve international navigation, such as the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to the rest of the world.

The strait, which the Islamic Republic effectively closed when the war broke out on February 28, following the U.S. and Israeli attack against it, a move that destabilized the global hydrocarbon trade and sent oil prices soaring, reopened just last week.

However, Tehran allows only one route to be used, along its coastline.

On the other hand, Oman remains noncommittal and has announced the opening of an alternative temporary route, which the sultanate presented as an initiative coordinated with the UN to evacuate crews and ships that had been stranded in the Gulf for months.

Haitham bin Tariq, the Sultan of Oman, and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke out yesterday in favor of “free navigation, without conditions or restrictions,” and agreed to conduct “joint mine-clearing operations.” Iranian diplomats reacted by calling on Paris not to “further complicate” the situation.

“Determination”

In Lebanon, which was included in the talks with the U.S. at Tehran’s request, the Israeli military continued over the weekend to launch airstrikes and carry out destructive operations despite the signing in Washington on Friday of a framework agreementframework agreement aimed at restoring “lasting peace.”

According to Lebanon’s state news agency, a new Israeli strike was reported yesterday in the southern part of the country.

The framework agreement stipulates that Israel will continue to occupy part of southern Lebanon, as it has since the start of the new war against Hezbollah on March 2, as long as the Shiite movement aligned with Iran does not lay down its arms.

This is a demand that has been made for decades, and the Lebanese government has been unable to meet it despite pressure from the U.S.

Yesterday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed the authorities’ “determination” to assert state authority up to the border with Israel by deploying the army — in the southern part of the country, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Hezbollah is accused of dragging Lebanon into the war in the Middle East in early March, when it fired rockets at Israel to avenge the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the early hours of the U.S.-Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic on February 28. In retaliation, Israel vowed to “eliminate” the enemy and launched large-scale bombings and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, killing more than 4,200 people, according to figures from the Ministry of Health in Beirut.

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Source: APE-MPE