US and Iran set for fresh talks in Doha after halting Hormuz strikes

DUBAI – US and Iranian officials will hold talks on June 30 in Qatar, President Trump said on June 29, the latest indication that tensions were de-escalating after the two sides traded strikes over the weekend.

Four officials familiar with the negotiations said the talks were not expected to include senior political leaders like Vice-President J.D. Vance, who led the previous round of negotiations in Switzerland a week ago.

Trump is instead sending his top Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Doha.

“Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be flying to Doha for high-level meetings this week, as we continue to discuss the memorandum of understanding. On the sidelines of those high-level talks will be the technical talks,” Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.

“As far as we’re concerned, we’re holding up our end of the ceasefire. Violence will be met with violence,” Leavitt added.

A source with knowledge of the discussions said mediators have established communications channels to de-escalate any incidents, and that technical talks are set to continue.

Unlike the previous technical talks between Tehran and Washington in Switzerland, however, the focus this time around would be on managing the Strait of Hormuz and de-escalating tensions.

The US and Iran signed on June 17 a 14-point memorandum of understanding aimed at ending four months of conflict. Both sides agreed to cease hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for global oil and gas shipments that Iran blockaded during the conflict.

Closure of the waterway sent oil prices soaring to above US$100 a barrel, triggering a renewed spike in global inflation and causing a political headache for Trump by pushing up prices at the pump months before midterm elections in the US.

The accord paves the way for 60 days of more in-depth talks on thornier issues such as Iran’s nuclear programme, although both sides have given conflicting accounts as to what was agreed.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on June 29 that US$6 billion (S$7.8 billion) out of US$12 billion of assets frozen in Qatar would be released following the accord and returned to Iran, Iranian state media reported.

He described the memorandum, which includes waivers for sanctions on Iran’s oil and petrochemical sectors, as “a great victory for the Iranian people”.

A senior Iranian source said Qatar and Iran were in the final stages of agreeing on technicalities for the release of the first US$6 billion of frozen assets, which he said would be issued in two tranches.

Standing down

A return to talks would follow several days of strikes and counterstrikes since an Iranian projectile hit a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on June 25, with both the US and Iran accusing the other of breaking the interim ceasefire.

Iran launched missiles and drones at US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain early on June 28, shortly after Trump issued his latest threat against Iran.

“There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” Trump said on social media.

“If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” he added.

On June 28, a US official said that the two countries had agreed to halt the attacks and allow vessels to move freely through their waterway.

Oil prices steadied at around US$72 a barrel for Brent crude on June 29 on news of a return to diplomacy.

“This complacency is odd”, given the high risks still facing the oil market, analysts at ING said.

Uncertainty over Lebanon truce

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key ally of Iran-backed Hezbollah, meanwhile, has cast doubt on a US-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel aimed at halting a parallel war there.

Berri warned on June 29 that the deal could lead to attempts to divide Lebanese, and said it would not be implemented.

The latest round of conflict in Lebanon began after Hezbollah struck Israel early in the war, in what it said was support of its backer Iran. Israel’s response has led to mass displacement and more than 4,000 deaths in Lebanon.

Tehran has said ending that conflict and withdrawing Israeli troops from the south of Lebanon are an integral part of any deal struck with the US to end the wider war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb 28.

Israel said on June 28 it struck Hezbollah, destroying underground infrastructure. That came after another strike on June 27, which closely followed its most recent ceasefire deal with Lebanon on June 26. REUTERS REUTERS