US and Iran enter technical talks to secure peace deal, restart shipping

(Reuters)

DOHA/DUBAI, July 1 – The U.S. and Iran held 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.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff met the prime minister of Qatar — a mediator in the talks alongside Pakistan — to lay groundwork for the negotiations, but would not ​be attending the discussions themselves, the source with direct knowledge of the talks said.

The talks are based on a 14-point interim ​accord signed last month that was meant to halt the war that began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran ⁠in February and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, whilst setting up 60 days of negotiations for a permanent peace deal.

However, the U.S. ​and Iran have sparred publicly over the meaning of the interim pact, leading to tit-for-tat strikes over the past week.

Iran is determined to ​win international recognition of its control over the strait and its ability to levy fees on ships entering or leaving the Gulf even if it has to do so by force, two senior Iranian sources said on Wednesday.

Traffic has partially resumed through the strait, which handled one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural ​gas trade before the war.