Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani affirmed his country’s continued mediation efforts and its support for all tracks of talks stemming from the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran. His remarks came in a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, where they discussed developments in ongoing .
This comes even as Iran says it would not meet with, clouding the prospects for lasting peace between the two countries.
Iranian officials also said the two sides must still sort out the terms of a ceasefire they signed two weeks ago before they could tackle more difficult topics, such as possible limits to its nuclear program.
“No meeting at any level with the American side has been scheduled for the coming days,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
The two countries were due to commence lower-level technical talks.
Iran has insisted on control over the, along with Oman, and has ruled out third-party intervention for the clearance of mines there.
“The sovereignty of the Strait of Hormuz lies with Iran and Oman, and traffic in the Strait is subject to arrangements determined by Iran,” Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf, said.
Traffic in the strait dropped over the weekend after a vessel was struck while transiting the waterway on Saturday.
Iran said it will monitor the United States’ compliance with the war‑termination memorandum of understanding “moment‑by‑moment” and warned that the Islamic Republic will not implement its commitments unilaterally.
Iran has also insisted on Lebanon being a part of the peace deal and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the southern parts of the country.
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US-Iran War News Live: Top negotiator says Strait of Hormuz is Iran’s ‘greatest instrument of power’
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said that Tehran will continue to assert sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, saying the MoU only provides a temporary 60-day exemption from fees for maritime services in the waterway.
Ghalibaf, who is also one of the top negotiators of Iran, told state-owned Press TV that the Strait of Hormuz was the Islamic Republic’s :greatest instrument of power” and “a divine gift that God granted us during this war.”
“These are our territorial waters. We will not allow the United States to create controversy or sophistry by claiming that Iran has militarised the Strait of Hormuz,” he added, even as the US insists on keeping the vital choke point open and free for international maritime transport.
US-Iran War News Live: IDF won’t withdraw from Lebanon as long as Hezbollah remains there, says Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the IDF will not withdraw from parts of Southern Lebanon, which it now controls “as long as Hezbollah remains here”. Netanyahu made the comments on Tuesday during a visit to the southern Lebanon security zone, where he also met the Israeli troops.
“We are telling both Iran and Hezbollah: leave this place. You have no business being here… This is a slap in the face, a punch in the face of the Iranian axis,” he said, according to a statement by his office.
Iran has insisted on the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as part of its peace deal with the US.
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