President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will send representatives to meet their Iranian counterparts in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday after the Iranian Islamist regime allegedly asked for the resumption of talks.
Trump’s confirmation, posted on his website Truth Social, follows the publication of several anonymously sourced reports that such conversations would take place in Doha this week. It also follows a tumultuous weekend in which the Pentagon’s Central Command (CENTCOM) and the Iranian armed forces exchanged fire, raising concerns about the memorandum of understanding signed nearly two weeks ago to end active hostilities between the two countries. The latest violence began after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, opened fire on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. The IRGC had repeatedly threatened commercial ships, demanding they not use a route carved out of the Strait by the government of Oman and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO, a U.N. agency, shut down the route after the strikes.
President Trump’s confirmation of talks on Tuesday was brief and offered not context as to what issues will be on the table to discuss.
“IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” he wrote.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt reportedly clarified in comments after the news of the meeting broke that Trump would be sending Special Envoy for the Middle East Witkoff and Jared Kushner to the Qatar talks.
On the sidelines of those high-level talks, there will be the technical talks,” Leavitt reportedly told Fox News. “As far as we’re concerned, we’re holding up our end of the ceasefire. Violence will be met with violence… there were attacks on commercial vessels that the United States of America, directed by President Trump, responded to.”
Leavitt referenced American military action on Saturday in response to the IRGC strikes on international ships in the Strait of Hormuz. According to CENTCOM, the strikes “targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.”
CENTCOM documented Iranian attacks on two ships, the Panamanian-flagged Kiku oil tanker and the Ever Lovely, a Singapore-flagged vessel, on Friday and Saturday.
“After yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning at 4:30 a.m. ET,” CENTCOM stated. “The Panama-flagged tanker was transiting near the Strait of Hormuz with more than two-million barrels of crude oil.”
Trump confirmed the strikes on Saturday and warned that continued Iranian aggression against the country’s neighbors and random ships could result in the peace agreement signed in mid-June dissolving, triggering a resumption of the war that began with America’s elimination of Iranian dictator Ali Khamenei in February.
“United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN! It is very possible that they will never learn!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. “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. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
Iran responded to these strikes on Sunday, shooting missiles at the neighboring states of Bahrain and Kuwait, both of which have positive diplomatic relations with America. Reports indicate those missile attacks resulted in no injuries, though videos indicate that at least one building was damaged. Hours later, however, reports surfaced via the Washington, DC, outlet Axios that Tehran and Washington had agreed to end hostilities before further escalation and talks were being scheduled for Tuesday.
The Emirati newspaper The National observed on Monday that Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi had claimed shortly before Trump confirmed the talks that no “technical meetings” were scheduled this week with the Americans. He claimed that talks were continuing in Qatar, but with the Qatari government, not with the U.S. delegation. The Iranian state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) has confirmed Gharibabadi’s comments.
“The first round of technical talks within the framework of the designated working groups will be held after the necessary conditions are met and following agreement on the date and venue, and consultations on these matters are continuing through the mediator countries,” he told reporters on Monday.
IRNA added that “some media outlets had reported and speculated that a technical meeting related to the Islamabad memorandum of understanding on ending the imposed war would be held between Iran, the United States, and the mediators.”
Gharibabadi concluded a visit to neighboring Oman recently, stating on Monday that the Omani government was working with Iran on structuring a plan to handle traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. The American memorandum of understanding signed with Iran states that Iran must allow the free traffic of ships through the strait without charging fees or tolls for at least 60 days.