President Donald Trump said Monday on social media that Iran had requested a gathering with U.S. counterparts, though Iranian officials said no such meeting was scheduled.
The U.S. president has tried to preserve an increasingly fragile interim deal as hostilities have mounted within the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, which could cause oil prices to rise and undermine Trump’s claims to voters that inflation in America was easing.
Trump said the meeting with Iran would occur on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar.
Earlier on Monday, Iran’s president said that US$6 billion in frozen Iranian assets can be released by Qatar, as negotiations with the US were challenged by attacks across the Persian Gulf this weekend.
Masoud Pezeshkian’s mention of the funds appeared aimed toward selling the Iranian public on the interim deal, particularly as its grip on the Strait of Hormuz has been tested by efforts to open Oman’s territorial waters to each inbound and outbound traffic from the Persian Gulf.
Iran’s attacks and threats stopped cargo ships and tankers from moving through the strait, by which a few fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed in peacetime, creating a worldwide energy crisis.
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The strait has long been considered a global waterway despite its location in Iran and Oman’s territorial waters. In recent days, Iran has twice attacked vessels going through a route near the Omani side, drawing retaliatory American airstrikes and concerns that negotiations to achieve a proper end to the war may very well be disrupted. Iran launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday.
Pezeshkian says $6 billion coming to Iran
Pezeshkian offered praise for the interim deal in comments published Monday by the state-run IRNA news agency, calling it “an amazing victory for the Iranian people.”
“Based on the plans made, $6 billion out of the whole $12 billion of Iranian resources in Qatar might be released and returned to the country, and obligatory follow-ups are being carried out,” he said. He didn’t elaborate.
Pezeshkian, a reformist inside Iran’s theocracy, is the highest-ranking official inside Iran to reference the discharge of the funds held by Qatar, a key mediator together with Pakistan within the negotiations. Up to now, U.S. officials say no frozen Iranian assets have been released. Qatar in addition to has not acknowledged any such transfer and Iran attacked a tanker crammed with Qatari crude oil this weekend through the crossfire within the Persian Gulf.
Confusion mounts over next round of Iran-US talks
Pakistan, a key mediator, has said talks would resume Tuesday. The Trump administration on Sunday said nothing has been canceled and technical talks are heading in the right direction for the approaching days.
But Kazem Gharibabadi, a senior negotiator for Iran, denied any talks had been scheduled, in comments published by IRNA.
“Although consultations with Qatar, including on following up on the implementation of the opposite side’s commitments, are continuing as usual, reports by some media about technical talks by the working groups being held in Doha are usually not confirmed,” he said.
Technical talks involve lower-level diplomats working on the specifics of any deal that might draw top leaders from Iran and the U.S. back to the table.
—Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
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