U.S. and Iran hold separate meetings in Qatar and agree to continue discussions

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. and Iran hold separate meetings in Qatar and agree to continue discussions July 2, 20261:57 AM ET By The Associated Press A group of people stands in shallow water as a cargo ship appears anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP hide caption toggle caption Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U. and Iranian negotiators met separately on Wednesday with Qatari and Pakistani mediators, with "positive progress made," and they agreed to continue discussions, host Qatar said.

Middle East conflict Trump says the U. and Iran will meet in Qatar after weekend attacks The next meeting will be scheduled "at the earliest possible time" after the funeral of Iran's previous supreme leader, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said on X. The funeral is set to start Saturday in Tehran.

The Details

Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, were in Qatar for talks seeking a permanent end to the war, along with Iran's top negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi. Negotiators aim to nail down specifics to pave the way for top leaders to seal an agreement, though differences over the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon loom large.

Sponsor Message A ship ran aground in the strait while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details. The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran's claims to control the strait, which the world has long considered an international waterway.

A fifth of all oil and natural gas passed through it in peacetime. and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28, Iran has used its ability to choke off the waterway as a key source of leverage, disrupting global markets for energy and other critical goods.

What Experts Say

The Strait of Hormuz is a key sticking point in talks Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway. and many Gulf Arab states say they won't agree to the charges.

An effort by Oman and a U. agency to launch a new route near Oman's shore sparked attacks across the Mideast last weekend, highlighting the tensions. Sponsor Message Iranian state TV on Wednesday said the ship "ran aground with its cargo because of shallow waters along the route it had chosen and was unable to continue sailing.

" It said shippers needed to follow the instructions of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the strait. The Guard's navy has repeatedly warned that "any entry or exit through routes other than the 'Route of Authority' in the Persian Gulf could lead to irreparable incidents.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.