Diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between the United States and Iran gathered momentum on Tuesday, with Qatar saying negotiations have reached "very progressive stages" and draft proposals for a possible agreement are now being circulated, even as Iran and Oman continued talks on future shipping arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz.
A fresh attack on a commercial vessel near the Strait of Hormuz and the diversion of Saudi-operated tankers away from the Red Sea underscored mounting risks to global energy supplies on Tuesday, even as the US and Iran issued conflicting statements over the status of negotiations.
Diplomatic efforts to defuse the Gulf crisis are expected to gain fresh momentum on Monday as the United States and Iran prepare to resume negotiations, following US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend a planned military strike against Iran.
Uncertainty over the future of the Strait of Hormuz deepened on Saturday as the United States and Iran traded conflicting claims over control of the strategic waterway, while commercial shipping remained severely disrupted and fresh attacks added to mounting concerns over the security of Gulf trade.
Iran and the US concluded a round of indirect talks on Wednesday with no sign they had made headway toward a lasting peace, focusing instead on issues that they said had been resolved when an interim deal was announced two weeks ago. Sources said negotiators spent two days in Doha discussing maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States launched a fresh wave of military strikes against Iran on Sunday after Tehran targeted a merchant vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz, sharply escalating a conflict that has spread across the Gulf and further dimmed hopes for a return to diplomacy.
The US and Iran held indirect technical talks in Doha on Wednesday as they seek to agree on the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and secure a lasting ceasefire, a source with direct knowledge of the talks and an Iranian official said.
The United States and Iran have agreed to halt their latest hostilities in the Gulf and resume negotiations for a comprehensive treaty, raising hopes that a fragile interim peace arrangement can survive despite days of escalating military exchanges.
US President Donald Trump said his patience with Iran was running out and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed during their talks in Beijing that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Fresh diplomatic momentum is building around possible talks between the United States and Iran, with both sides signalling cautious openness even as they stop short of confirming direct engagement.
