Will US and Iranian representatives meet in Doha? And what happens next in the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz? The most important questions and answers.
June 30, 2026, 05:51June 30, 2026, 05:51
“Iran has asked for a meeting,” wrote US President Donald Trump on the Truth Social platform. However, things sounded different from the Iranian side. A round of talks will take place “as soon as the conditions have been created and agreement has been reached on the date and venue,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Kasem Gharibabadi, according to the Iranian news agency Isna. A pure negotiation tactic?
Technical meetings of the working groups are not scheduled this week, Gharibabadi said, but consultations through mediators will continue. According to Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and US special envoy Steve Witkoff will fly to the Qatari capital Doha for talks this week. Should they take place – whether today or another day – according to the US media, the focus will not be on Iran’s nuclear program – as initially expected – but once again on the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
These are the most important questions and answers.
Was the Strait dispute not resolved?
The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which is important for global trade in oil, gas and fertilizer, is a central element of the framework agreement that Washington and Tehran agreed to around two weeks ago. But the relevant passage in the agreement contains wording that leaves room for interpretation. After the signing, Iran will “take best precautions” to enable merchant ships to pass safely through the strait free of charge for 60 days, the framework agreement states, among other things.
The terms “precautions” and “best efforts” remained undefined, according to the think tank “The Soufan Center”. However, experts would not interpret the article as justifying Iran’s position that ships should only transit the strait on routes determined by Tehran.
The framework agreement “deliberately relied on flexible wording because this was probably the only way to bring them (the negotiations) to a conclusion,” said Nicole Grajewski from the elite Parisian university Sciences Po to the New York Times. Both sides are now trying to create facts in their favor before the details are finalized in a final agreement.
Why are the Iranians risking breaking the ceasefire?
According to experts, there are strategic reasons why Iran insists on sole control of the strait during the already shaky ceasefire:
1. Maximum pressure on the USA in the peace negotiations
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards – the Islamic Republic’s elite force – used the Strait of Hormuz “as a tool to exert pressure and strengthen their negotiating position,” said a security expert in Tehran who wished to remain anonymous. With the attacks they demonstrated “their ability and control over this strategically important waterway”. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi explicitly emphasized on Sunday that, according to the framework agreement, Iran is solely responsible for managing the strait. Tehran wants to send a signal to Washington: If you undermine our sovereignty, it will hit the global energy market. The strait is Iran’s strongest economic and military leverage.
2. Pressure also on the Gulf states
Iran’s recent attacks on US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait may be part of its effort to force Gulf states to accept Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a situation analysis by the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington. According to the assessment, it could also be a signal to other Gulf states that Iran could take military action against them if they support the USA in undermining Iran’s claim to power in the Strait.
Sultan Barakat from Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar also sees the latest escalation as a signal from Iran to use military force if in doubt. The conflict was apparently exacerbated by Oman’s designation of a new route, he told Al Jazeera. “Iran has little interest in watching its political leverage disappear with every ship that is diverted into Omani waters,” Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group think tank told the Wall Street Journal.
3. Link to the conflict in Lebanon
The framework agreement reached between Washington and Tehran also provides for an end to the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah. Experts criticize that the USA has given Iran veto rights over developments in Lebanon. Iran wants to protect Hezbollah at all costs and accepts breaking the ceasefire with the USA in order to do so. The Strait of Hormuz serves as an asymmetrical weapon. Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon is made a condition for a permanent end to the war.
Shouldn’t this actually be about Iran’s nuclear program?
Iran is trying to make the nuclear negotiations with Washington dependent on the USA persuading Israel to stop military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon and withdraw from Lebanese territory, according to an analysis by the US Institute for War Studies (ISW). This serves Iran’s efforts not only to preserve Hezbollah, but also to prolong the nuclear negotiations.
What is important for the USA?
The USA has no interest in a resumption of the war. What is important to them first is that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal as soon as possible, without any fees charged by Iran. Trump has considered opening the strait using military means several times, write the experts at the Soufan Center in New York. “However, he rejected this option because it would likely have resulted in significant losses on the US side and would have extended the war indefinitely.” (sda/dpa)