President Donald Trump announced Monday that the U.S. and Iran are set to hold fresh talks Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, after a weekend of military hostilities threatened to blow up fragile negotiations.
Trump said Iran had requested the meeting, signaling that diplomacy may still be alive despite the latest flare-up in the Middle East.
“IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
There was no immediate public response from Iran.
CNBC said it contacted Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was awaiting a response.
A White House official told CNBC that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. special envoy for peace missions Steve Witkoff were expected to brief Congress on an initial peace deal Monday.
The announcement came after the U.S. and Iran traded strikes over the weekend, raising new fears that talks aimed at ending the conflict could collapse.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday that special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel for the meeting.
“As far as we’re concerned, we’re holding up our end of the ceasefire. Violence will be met with violence,” she added.
Leavitt said the administration still hopes diplomacy can hold, but made clear Trump is not taking military options off the table.
“The United States of America has the best and strongest military in the world. The president retains the right to use it. But again, the memorandum of understanding will continue to be discussed. The ceasefire is in place, and we hope that we can get to a good deal.”
The U.S. struck Iranian military targets over the weekend after Tehran’s latest attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important oil corridors in the world.
Iran’s attacks prompted Donald Trump to issue another blunt warning Sunday.
“There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” he wrote on Truth Social.
U.S. officials said both sides would pause hostilities and allow commercial vessels to move through the strategic waterway.
“Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MOU,” a U.S. official told CNBC on Sunday. “Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely.”
The Strait of Hormuz sits between Oman and Iran and is widely considered one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints.
Roughly 20% of the world’s oil traffic typically moves through the narrow passage, making any military disruption there a direct threat to global energy markets.
Trump also highlighted falling oil and gas prices Monday, noting in separate Truth Social posts that U.S. crude oil prices had dropped to levels last seen before the Iran war began on Feb. 28.
For the White House, the message is simple, Trump is willing to talk, but not from a position of weakness.
For Tehran, the Doha meeting could be a chance to salvage a deal before another round of violence brings even harsher consequences.
