U.S. and Iran Send Separate Delegations to Qatar After Gulf Attacks Pause

The United States and Iran separately announced on Monday that they will send delegations to Qatar this week, Fortune reported. Iran stated it has not agreed to meet with the U.S. at any level. President Donald Trump said the Islamic Republic had requested a meeting and that the sides planned to convene Tuesday in Doha.

Iran’s senior negotiator Kazem Gharibabadi denied that talks had been scheduled. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran was sending its delegation to discuss terms of the interim deal without involving the U.S. The U.S.

-backed sanctions, opens the Strait of Hormuz and gives each side 60 days to reach broader agreements, Fortune reported. After four days of trading strikes, both sides appeared to pause their attacks on Monday. A U.S.

Official said the sides are standing down and vessels can move freely through the Strait of Hormuz. The same official said Qatar planned to release $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets to purchase U.S. food products.

Oman’s foreign minister Badr Albusaidi said Oman and Iran are considering charging service-related fees for commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, including water safety measures and navigational assistance. He added that Oman does not support imposing transit fees. Kazem Gharibabadi said under the interim deal demining is carried out solely by Iran.

Oman and France issued a joint statement calling for free navigation and agreed to conduct joint demining operations. The war between the U.S. and Iran began on February 28. Iran twice attacked vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, including a tanker filled with Qatari crude, and launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday.