DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) – Technical teams from Iran and the United States working on implementing an interim peace deal are expected to meet in Doha in the coming days, a source told Reuters on Monday, after tit-for-tat attacks over the weekend threatened to compromise the fragile agreement.
Mediators have established communication channels to mitigate any incidents, and technical negotiations will continue, added the source, who is aware of the discussions.
A high-ranking Iranian source said there would be a meeting in Doha on Tuesday, but unlike previous technical talks between Tehran and Washington in Switzerland, the focus would be on managing the Strait of Hormuz and reducing tensions.
US President Donald Trump confirmed in a social media post that there would be a meeting in Doha on Tuesday, but did not give details.
The US and Iran signed, on June 17, a 14-point memorandum of understanding with the aim of putting an end to four months of conflict, in which both parties agreed to cease hostilities and reopen the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally transits.
The closure of the waterway pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel, boosting global inflation and causing a political headache for Trump on the eve of the midterm elections — he himself had trumpeted the drop in oil and gas prices in a series of other posts in the early hours of Monday.
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The agreement paves the way for 60 days of more in-depth negotiations on thornier issues such as Iran’s nuclear program, although both sides have presented conflicting versions of what was agreed.
RELEASE OF FROZEN IRANIAN ASSETS
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that $6 billion of the $12 billion in assets frozen in Qatar would be released after the deal and returned to Iran, Iranian state media reported.
He described the memorandum, which includes exemptions from sanctions against Iran’s oil and petrochemical sectors, as “a huge victory for the Iranian people.”
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The high-ranking Iranian source said Doha and Tehran were in the final stages of negotiating the technical details for the release of the first $6 billion in frozen assets, which she said would be released in two installments.
Oil prices rose on Monday, with Brent crude futures rising nearly 1% after weekend tensions highlighted the fragility of the deal between the US and Iran.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Doha this week for high-level meetings, which would run alongside technical talks.
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“As far as we are concerned, we are fulfilling our part of the ceasefire. Violence will be met with violence,” Leavitt added.
But in an indication of the uncertainty surrounding the interim deal, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Monday, before Trump’s post, that there were no technical working group meetings scheduled for this week, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim.
Consultations with Qatar, including on monitoring the implementation of the other party’s commitments, continued normally, according to him.
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The return to negotiations would come after several days of attacks and counterattacks since an Iranian projectile hit a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, with the US and Iran accusing each other of violating the interim ceasefire.
