Iran says that it would not meet with top US envoys who flew to the region following an outbreak of hostilities, clouding the prospects for a lasting peace between the two countries. Iranian officials also say the two sides must still sort out the terms of a ceasefire they signed two weeks ago before they could tackle more difficult topics, such as possible limits to its nuclear program. The developments indicate that the two sides are far apart on key pillars of the initial framework, which calls for Iran to lift its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for financial incentives and sets up 60 days of negotiations to work out a permanent peace deal.
US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Doha for what the White House described as “high-level” talks, but Iran and host Qatar said they would meet with mediators, rather than the Iranians themselves. “No meeting at any level with the American side has been scheduled for the coming days,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says. The two countries were due to commence lower-level technical talks. Shipping has partially resumed through the strait, which handled one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas before the war broke out on February 28.
But Iranian officials have insisted on their right to manage traffic along with US ally Oman, which lies on the other side of the strategic waterway. Iranian officials said they would impose tolls in mid-August, when the 60-day period expires. “The sovereignty of the Strait of Hormuz lies with Iran and Oman, and traffic in the Strait is subject to arrangements determined by Iran,” Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf, says on state TV.
Despite the uncertainty, oil prices have fallen since the weekend, when the US bombed Iranian military facilities in response to drone strikes on commercial ships and Iran attacked US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain. Vulnerable economies, however, could remain at risk from food and fuel price increases even after energy markets feel relief, the UN trade and development agency says. (Source)
