The United States and Iran have less than 60 days to negotiate a permanent end to the war, but they still seem to be at odds over the interim deal they reached this month.
It's not even clear when the two sides will meet again. “The situation is sensitive and complex,” a senior Iranian negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi, posted Monday on X.
Talks are just one of the pressing questions. Others include the Strait of Hormuz, which the U.S. says is open while
Iran insists on a measure of control. The issue led both sides to carry out days of military strikes that appeared on Monday to have ended.
Here’s a look at what both sides have said about key sticking points, including the ongoing fighting in Lebanon, and why the conflict is still far from resolved.
WHAT THE U.S. SAYS:
“IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media Monday.
WHAT IRAN SAYS:
“There are no negotiation meetings with the U.S. side at any level scheduled in the coming days,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Monday.
WHAT’S GOING ON:
The U.S. and Iran have a roughly mid-August deadline to reach a permanent peace deal including an agreement on Iran's disputed nuclear program.
What’s ahead are technical talks involving lower-level diplomats before any return to the table by top negotiators. Mediators are eager to get going. Pakistan, a key mediator along with Qatar, has said talks would resume Tuesday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, were flying to Qatar to meet with the Iranians and that technical negotiations would occur on the sidelines.
Later, Iranian state media cited Baghaei as saying an expert delegation will travel to Qatar this week but with no planned U.S. meetings.
There’s plenty to discuss, including arrangements around the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions waivers on Iran and the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
But the deal says fighting must stop before further negotiations. After the exchange of fire over the weekend, Iran on Sunday threatened a “complete halt” in talks. On Monday, both sides appeared to pause their attacks. Tehran may be waiting to see if that holds.
WHAT THE U.S. SAYS:
The Strait of Hormuz is open, according to the interim deal.
WHAT IRAN SAYS:
Iran insists it must govern the strait. “Any attempt to establish new or separate arrangements from those currently being carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran will only lead to further complications, delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and increase the level of tension,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday.
WHAT’S GOING ON:
This AP explainer is a good start. But in short, Iran during the war discovered a powerful new source of leverage in the waterway that carried a fifth of the world's oil and gas before the conflict.
The interim deal says Iran should immediately facilitate commercial shipping through the strait that lies between it and Oman. It says Iran can work with Oman and other Persian Gulf countries to administer the waterway in line with international laws ensuring freedom of navigation.
Iran says shippers must use its designated routes and coordinate with its authorities. It has objected to a new route overseen by the U.S. that runs along Oman. That sparked the fighting over the weekend.
The Trump administration is operating on the understanding that the U.S. and Iran are standing down and vessels can move freely through the strait, a U.S. official said Monday on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.
Ships have begun transiting again, but traffic is still below prewar levels.
WHAT IRAN SAYS:
Fighting must stop everywhere and Israel must withdraw from Lebanon before moving ahead on other issues.
WHAT HEZBOLLAH SAYS:
The Iranian-backed militant group will resist Israel's occupation of large parts of southern Lebanon, and linking Israel’s withdrawal to Hezbollah’s disarmament is a “very dangerous suggestion,” Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said Saturday.
WHAT ISRAEL SAYS:
Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon “until Hezbollah and the rest of the terrorist organizations are disarmed, and until no further threat to Israel is posed from Lebanon,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
WHAT’S GOING ON:
A separate set of U.S.-brokered talks have been held between Israel and Lebanon's government.
Iran says its interim deal with the U.S., which calls for a complete ceasefire in Lebanon, requires Israel to withdraw. But a separate U.S.-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel allows Israeli forces to stay in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah has been disarmed. Hezbollah was not part of those talks and has rejected that deal.
Hezbollah attacked Israel two days after it and the United States attacked Iran on Feb. 28. Israel responded with aerial bombardment and a ground invasion.
Israel has vowed to keep forces in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah's threat is eliminated. Lebanon's government does not have the capacity to disarm Hezbollah by force.
Sporadic clashes continued in Lebanon over the weekend. That could delay Iran's return to the negotiating table.
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Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed.
