Trump says U.S.-Iran talks to resume in Qatar

The United States and Iran are expected to return to talks in Qatar on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said, after a weekend of strikes in the Gulf raised new doubts about a fragile ceasefire and the future of an interim agreement between the two countries.

“IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. “IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!”

Tehran did not immediately confirm the meeting. Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister and a senior negotiator, told Iranian media that consultations with Qatar were continuing but said reports of technical working-group talks in Doha were “not confirmed.” NPR reported that he said technical talks with the U.S. were not planned for this week and would be held only “when the conditions are met.”

U.S. officials offered a different account. A source with knowledge of the discussions told NBC News that technical teams working on implementation of the initial U.S.-Iran agreement are scheduled to meet in Doha in the coming days, and that communications channels created to de-escalate incidents remain in place. A U.S. official told CBS News that talks were set to continue and that both sides would stand down after the weekend exchange of strikes.

The uncertainty follows a sharp escalation around the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway at the center of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding. The clashes began after efforts to reopen the strait without Iranian oversight, including a United Nations-backed route near Oman, drew warnings from Tehran. Iran has said it retains authority over the strait under the agreement.

NPR reported that Iran attacked a cargo ship Thursday near Oman, just outside the strait, and that the U.S. responded by striking missile and drone sites along Iranian territory bordering the waterway on Friday and Saturday. U.S. Central Command said the strikes came after Iranian attacks on two cargo ships, including one carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil.

Iran said it launched missiles at U.S. forces in Bahrain and Kuwait in counterstrikes. A U.S. official told CBS News that no drones or missiles launched by Iran at U.S. assets in Bahrain and Kuwait reached their targets, with some shot down or intercepted, and that there were no U.S. wounded or impacts on U.S. assets.

Trump warned over the weekend that “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.” Tehran had threatened a “complete halt” to negotiations if Washington continued its attacks.

The dispute also involves financial terms of the interim agreement. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday that $6 billion of $12 billion in Iranian resources held in Qatar would be released and returned to Iran, according to Iranian state media. “Efforts are ongoing to recover the remaining funds,” he said. The U.S. has not confirmed that any frozen assets have been released.

Iran and Oman have also opened talks on management of the Strait of Hormuz. Gharibabadi said on X that the first meeting of the Joint Hormuz Committee was held during a trip to Muscat, where officials “exchanged views on the future management” of the strait. CBS News reported that Iran has raised the possibility of “services fees” for ships passing through the channel, while the U.S. opposes tolls and says the strait is an international waterway.

The memorandum of understanding says Iran will consult Oman and other Persian Gulf coastal states on the strait’s administration under applicable international law and coastal states’ sovereign rights. It also says the strait is to remain toll-free “for 60 days only” after the deal’s signing.