American and Iranian officials are in the Gulf state, a key intermediary between the two countries, days after new round of attacks threatened efforts to sign a lasting peace deal. Share full articleImageTehran on June 15.Credit...Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Latest PinnedUpdated June 30, 2026, 11:50 a.m. ETLeo SandsAaron Boxerman and Hari Raj Here’s the latest.U.S. and Iranian negotiators were in Qatar on Tuesday as both sides were set to hold talks with mediators, after a surge of attacks in recent days over the Strait of Hormuz threatened to derail efforts to agree a lasting peace deal. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two of President Trump’s closest advisers, will meet with the prime minister of the Persian Gulf state, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, a U.S. official said. The official added that the U.S. and Iranian delegations would hold separate talks with Qatari and Pakistani mediators on Wednesday. Iran and Qatar said that no direct, high-level meetings between the U.S. and Iranian officials were planned and that the discussions would instead be conducted via Qatari intermediaries. The negotiations will focus on implementing the preliminary cease-fire deal reached two weeks ago, the spokesmen for both countries’ foreign ministries said separately. The absence of face-to-face talks underscores the depth of the distrust between the United States and Iran, after negotiators met in Switzerland this month. The meetings follow a days-long flare up of hostilities over the strait, a key transit route for oil and gas shipments that Iran effectively blockaded during the war. The preliminary cease-fire largely deferred discussion of the toughest topics, including Iran’s nuclear program and U.S. sanctions on Tehran, and allotted 60 days for the countries to reach a comprehensive, long-term deal. But the two sides have been unable to agree even on the meaning of the cease-fire agreement. American officials also hoped that the pact would lead to the full reopening of the strait to its prewar status, when ships transited for free. Iran, however, has insisted that the agreement gives it substantial authority over the waterway and has threatened ships that do not travel on Iranian-mandated routes. Tehran and Oman, a U.S. ally, are advancing a plan to collect payments for ships moving through the strait, despite American objections, according to an Iranian official and four diplomats with knowledge of the matter. The latest round of hostilities began last Thursday, when the U.S. military said Iran had attacked a cargo ship hours after Iran warned that vessels could only travel through its waters in the strait. The ship was transiting through an alternative route near the Omani coast. American officials also blamed Iran for another attack on Saturday. The U.S. retaliated by striking what it said were Iranian military sites and Iran responded by carrying out drone and missile strikes against American targets in Bahrain and Kuwait. The clashes ended on Sunday, but neither side has publicly acceded to the other’s demands on the strait. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet on Tuesday with the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, and other mediators in Doha to discuss the preliminary agreement between the U.S. and Iran, a U.S. official said. The official said American and Iranian delegations plan to participate in separate technical talks on Wednesday with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan. Vivian Nereim reported from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Farnaz Fassihi from New York; and Erika Solomon from Cairo. Oman is said to propose a fee plan for the Strait of Hormuz.ImageA cargo vessel anchored off the coast of Oman near Muscat last week.Credit...Elke Scholiers/Getty ImagesIran and U.S.-allied Oman are moving forward with plans to collect payment for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, despite public American objections, according to an Iranian official and four diplomats with knowledge of the matter. If enacted, the plans would be a significant change from the prewar status in the strategic waterway, underscoring how the American-Israeli decision to attack Iran on Feb. 28 has changed the Middle East in far-reaching and unanticipated ways. Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz was an international shipping route between Iran and Oman that vessels sailed through free, carrying oil and gas from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. During the fighting, Iran effectively blockaded the waterway, an important choke point for global trade, sending energy prices skyrocketing. Since then, Iranian officials have repeatedly declared their intentions to monetize the strait. Oman recently delivered a formal proposal to the United States and other Western allies that outlined a plan in which shipping companies would pay service fees to use the strait, according to the Iranian official and a regional diplomat. A person familiar with the U.S. position confirmed that American negotiators had received the Omani proposal and said that they had concerns that they intended to discuss with Omani officials. The officials and diplomats cited in this article all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. The risk of mines near the central route, long used by commercial ships, has forced ships to take alternative paths: a southern route near Oman or a northern route near Iran. Sources: U.N. International Maritime Organization (pre-war routes); Persian Gulf Strait Authority (Iranian routes); Joint Maritime Information Center (Omani routes and mine danger area); Marine Regions (maritime boundaries). Adina Renner/The New York Times The future of the strait remains a central issue in talks between the United States and Iran to hammer out a lasting peace agreement. Oman’s proposal is partly modeled on arrangements in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, an Asian waterway where a private foundation collects voluntary contributions for safe navigation, the regional diplomat said. Any fees in the Strait of Hormuz would be voluntary, the diplomat said. The Iranian official, however, said that the payments would be obligatory. On Monday, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said that Tehran’s priority was to come to an agreement with Oman. But if Oman is unwilling to establish a joint framework for managing the waterway, Iran will move forward on its own, he said, according to remarks carried by Iranian state television. Oman, a sultanate in the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has long cultivated a reputation for neutrality, serving as a mediator between the United States and Iran. The country has found itself engaging in an increasingly difficult balancing act as the war inflames regional tensions. After news initially emerged in May that Oman had discussed partnering with Iran to charge service fees in the strait, President Trump threatened to bomb Oman if it did not “behave just like everybody else.” As recently as last week, Mr. Trump called the idea of collecting tolls or fees for passage through the strait “unacceptable.” It was not immediately clear whether the Trump administration would be willing to go along with voluntary service fees. A framework peace agreement signed by the United States and Iran this month, which stopped the war, addressed the Strait of Hormuz, ensuring “the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge,” but only for a period of 60 days while negotiations to define specifics carried on. The agreement stipulated that Iran and Oman should start a “dialogue” about what happens in the shipping route after that. The person familiar with the U.S. position said that the American negotiating team valued its partnership with Oman and was confident that they could resolve differences over the Omani proposal at the technical level. The struggle over the future of Hormuz highlights the challenges Omani officials face as they find their country and waterways embroiled in a conflict that they had desperately tried to avert.
Original Source: NYTimes
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