Iran’s top negotiators have reached Qatar’s capital Doha to hold talks for a possible deal with the United States to end the nearly three-months old war in West Asia, an official briefed on the visit said on Monday.
Among the Iranian negotiators, Tehran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are in Doha to hold talks with Qatar’s prime minister for a potential deal. The discussions are expected to be focused on the reopening of Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, officials told Reuters.
The official added that Iran’s central bank governor is also part of the delegation who will primarily discuss the release of Tehran’s frozen assets as part of the final agreement with the United States under sanctions waiver, report added.
Trump links truce to Abraham Accords
After US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that agreement between Washington and Tehran is “largely negotiated”, a potential deal is emerging to end the conflict. Trump, on Monday, linked the Abraham Accords signing with Iran negotiations and said that talks with Tehran were proceeding “nicely”.
The US president added that any ceasefire agreement with Iran would either be a “great and meaningful” deal or there would be no deal at all.
After 12 weeks since the US and Israel launched its offensive against Iran, the Islamic Republic has insisted that any agreement will have to include an end to fighting on all fronts, including Israel’s offensive in Lebanon.
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Conflict over waterway sovereignty and tolls
The talks in Doha could help in reopening the critical waterway, which deals with the passage of an estimated 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas.
.@SecRubio: “The idea that somehow this @POTUS — given everything he’s already proven he’s willing to do — is gonna somehow agree to a deal that ultimately winds up putting Iran in a stronger position when it comes to nuclear ambitions is absurd. That’s just not gonna happen.” pic.twitter.com/laDzm1OSQU
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 24, 2026
However, Iran has also been discussing to introduce tolling system for the commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, but the Trump administration has rejected the idea and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said that no country should agree to pay any amount for passing the strait.
Uranium stockpile as a deal-breaker
The discussions in Doha would also be focused on Iran’s highly enriched uranium as America has said that Tehran will have to hand over the stockpile.
A US official confirmed to Associated Press that if Iran doesn’t give up its enriched uranium stockpile, there will be no sanctions relief, including unfreezing of assets.
