U.S. and Iranian Officials Hold Indirect Talks in Doha After Recent Strikes

U.S. and Iranian officials held indirect technical talks in Doha on July 1 to advance implementation of a memorandum of understanding signed the previous month. The MOU calls for a 60-day ceasefire, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and a timetable for a final agreement on Iran's nuclear programme.

The talks were mediated by Qatar and Pakistan. Iran's delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on June 30 that implementation challenges and differences of opinion are inevitable when a war ends, and that the Iranian side would focus on clauses concerning the Strait of Hormuz and fighting in Lebanon.

U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on June 30 and Qatar's ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on July 1. -Iran talks and developments in Lebanon.

Iran had insisted there would be no direct negotiations in Doha. The current round follows recent exchanges of fire. Iran targeted a commercial ship it said had deviated from its approved route through the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command attacked 10 Iranian military targets. Iran then struck U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, which both countries condemned. Iran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the conflict in March 2026 with rocket fire at Israel, prompting Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

Fighting on that front has been relatively quiet in the days before the Doha talks. The memorandum of understanding was brokered by Qatar and Pakistan and endorsed at a summit in Lucerne, Switzerland, last month.