President Donald Trump declared on Monday that Iran had requested a meeting and that it would take place on Tuesday in Doha, yet hours earlier senior Iranian officials had denied that any technical working-group sessions were planned for this week. The White House later specified that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner would travel to the Qatari capital for high-level discussions, with technical talks continuing on the sidelines. The conflicting accounts emerged after a weekend of reciprocal strikes in the Strait of Hormuz that threatened to unravel the 14-point memorandum of understanding signed on 17 June.

Viewed from Washington, the announcement signals an effort to preserve a diplomatic track that the Trump administration sees as essential to keeping the strategic waterway open and preventing a renewed spike in global energy prices. US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told multiple outlets that both sides had agreed to pause hostilities and allow vessels to move freely through the strait. The White House press secretary warned, however, that “violence will be met with violence,” maintaining that the United States was upholding its end of the ceasefire while reserving the right to respond to attacks on commercial shipping.

In Tehran, the messaging was markedly different. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s senior negotiator, said that while consultations with Qatar on implementing commitments were continuing, media reports of technical talks in Doha were “not confirmed.” Iranian state media quoted President Masoud Pezeshkian praising the interim agreement as “a great victory” and stating that $6 billion of the $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar would be released—a claim that US officials have not corroborated and that Doha has not publicly acknowledged. Iran also announced it had held its first meeting with Oman on the future management of the strait, a move that Gulf-based analysts interpret as an attempt to assert a privileged role over the waterway.

The core dispute centres on control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the conflict. The memorandum of understanding commits both sides to halt hostilities, reopen the strait, and negotiate a broader settlement within 60 days, but it left unresolved the question of how traffic would be administered. Iran insists vessels use a corridor near its coastline, while the United States and Gulf Arab states view any unilateral imposition of tolls or routing as unacceptable. Qatar and Pakistan have continued to mediate, and diplomatic sources indicate that technical teams are still expected to meet in Doha in the coming days, even as the public dissonance persists. The next concrete step, according to those briefed on the process, is the convening of working-level talks to clarify the implementation of the memorandum, though no date has been formally confirmed by both parties.