Al Jazeera

By Daniel Khalili-Tari and Usaid Siddiqui

    United States President Donald Trump claims Iran has “requested a meeting” following the exchange of strikes last week, and says it will take place in Qatar today.

    Iran’s Foreign Ministry denies any planned meeting with the US but says it will send an expert delegation to Doha to follow up on the release of frozen Iranian funds.

    Tehran also rejects France’s de-mining plans for the Strait of Hormuz, warning Paris against “provocations” in a “sensitive and complex situation”.

    Israeli forces kill at least eight Palestinians in Gaza and strike southern Lebanon again, despite a ceasefire agreement with Beirut.

What’s the status of the US-Iran MoU

    The MoU calls for a ceasefire on all fronts, but Israeli forces continue to launch near-daily attacks on southern Lebanon, while US and Iran exchanged tit-for-tat attacks over the weekend following a dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.

    The US has announced an end to its naval blockade on Iranian ports.

    Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed sharply after resuming last week, with Iran attacking vessels after the US, Oman and the UN announced a new route in Omani waters.

    The US has approved temporary waivers to facilitate Iranian crude oil, petroleum product, and petrochemical exports.

    Iran says the US has approved the release of $12bn in frozen Iranian funds.

    Tehran says any talks on its nuclear programme will begin after the US implements provisions on ending the war, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, relief from sanctions and release of frozen assets.

    Israel failed to take the town during recent fighting but now wants the Lebanese army to remove Hezbollah’s presence there under a deal brokered in Washington.

    Many residents say that plan threatens Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Only two South Korean ships remain in Strait of Hormuz

    South Korean President Lee Jae-myung says all but two South Korean ships in the Strait of Hormuz have now exited the waterway.

    A total of 26 South Korean-linked vessels were stranded in the Strait when Iran closed the strategic waterway on February 28, the day the US-Israeli war began.

    The hostilities stranded some 11,000 sailors on board 600 vessels. Under an International Maritime Organization-led operation, some 115 ships carrying 2,500 crew members left the strait last week.

    But the United Nations agency had to pause the operation after hostilities between US and Iran flared again last week.

US lawmakers press Rubio, Witkoff on Iran nuclear stockpile, lifting of oil sanctions

    We have been reporting on the congressional briefings by the Trump administration on the memorandum of understanding with Iran.

    According to Politico, Secretary of State Rubio and Trump’s envoy Witkoff held a phone briefing for House lawmakers after their briefing for the Senate.

    Politico described the calls as the “first broad congressional briefings” on Trump’s Iran deal.

    Citing two anonymous sources, Politico reported that lawmakers pressed Rubio and Witkoff on Tehran’s nuclear stockpile and the lifting of sanctions on Iran’s oil exports. The officials told legislators their goal was to negotiate a final deal that would prohibit Iran from keeping its highly enriched uranium. They said the MoU would launch those negotiations, while Witkoff added that technical teams involved in the nuclear talks would travel to Qatar for the discussions.

    Rubio and Witkoff sought to ease concerns about the slow reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and assured lawmakers that Iran has not received any money under the MoU, especially not directly from US sources.

    According to Politico, one Democratic lawmaker went back and forth with Rubio and Witkoff over the lifting of oil sanctions, and the officials eventually cut off the conversation and ended the call.

Iran says talks on a final deal with US have not begun

    We have more from Esmaeil Baghaei’s comments on the tensions with the US.

    He said negotiations on a final deal, including on Iran’s nuclear programme, have not begun.

    “We have not yet entered the negotiation phase for a final agreement,” he said in comments carried by Iran’s IRIB broadcaster.

    “According to Article 13 of the Memorandum of Understanding, the commencement of negotiations for a final agreement is conditional on the commencement and continuation of the implementation of Articles 1, 4, 5, 10, and 11,” Baghaei added.

    Article 1 calls for an end to war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, while Article 4 calls for the US to remove its naval blockade on Iranian ports and remove its forces from the “proximity” of Iranian territory. Article 5 concerns the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, as we reported earlier, Article 10 is on lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports, while Article 11 calls for the release of frozen assets.

Democratic lawmaker says US ‘should not be financing more weapons for Netanyahu’

    Greg Casar, a congressman from Texas, says he plans to vote in favour of an amendment that would halt military aid to Israel.

    “The Israeli government committed war crimes in Gaza and helped drag America into war with Iran,” Casar said in a post on X. “Americans should not be financing more weapons for Netanyahu.”

    The amendment was proposed by Republican lawmaker Thomas Massie and calls for the cancellation of $3.3bn in annual aid to Israel. It also stipulates that funding earmarked for Israel under the State Department funding bill be scrapped.

    Last month, Massie lost his bid for re-election to the Trump-backed Ed Gallrein.

    It was the most expensive House of Representatives primary contest in US history, with spending to unseat Massie exceeding $32m. Most of the funding came from pro-Israel organisations and groups aligned with Trump.

    Massie’s amendment is expected to be voted on later this week.

Iranian delegation’s visit to Doha unrelated to US team’s trip, official says

    We can now bring you more from the spokesperson for the Iranian negotiators, who denied the plans for talks in Doha with US officials.

    Esmaeil Baghaei, who is also the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said Tehran’s “current priority is to ensure the implementation” of the memorandum of understanding with Washington, and that “we are seriously pursuing our demands”.

    He said the expert delegation being dispatched to Doha is going there to follow up on the implementation of the MoU.

    Baghaei noted that the US has issued waivers on Iranian oil exports, as per Article 10 of the MoU, and said, “We are following up on its implementation”. Officials are also seeking the release of frozen Iranian funds, under Article 11 of the MoU.

    “We will not have any negotiation meetings at any level with the American side in the coming days. And the fact that American representatives are travelling to Qatar has nothing to do with the Iranian delegation’s trip,” he added.

    Tehran officials previously said that Washington had agreed to release $12bn in frozen Iranian funds in two tranches of $6bn. Iran’s president said earlier on Monday that one of those tranches, held in Qatar, will be released and returned.

    In Iran’s case, the funds are mainly oil revenues and foreign currency reserves held in banks abroad. Estimates put the total at more than $100bn, although the exact amount is unknown.

Top Democrat slams ‘deficient’ briefing by Trump officials

    Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer says Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have briefed lawmakers on the peace negotiations with Iran.

    But the briefing for senators “was delayed, deficient and devoid of details”, he said.

    “After dragging America into a costly war, the Trump administration still can’t name a single thing Americans got in return. Instead, Secretary Rubio confirmed to me that Iran will reap billions in oil revenue while retaining dangerous leverage over the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote.

    “If this is the administration’s defense behind closed doors, Secretary Rubio should make it under oath, in public, before the Foreign Relations Committee.

    “Americans are paying the price for Trump’s war. They deserve answers, not this Administration’s nonstop excuses.”

Trump lashes out at fuel retailers over high prices

    The US president is once again demanding that petrol stations and other fuel retailers lower their prices immediately in response to the fall in oil prices.

    In an apparent threat, Trump warned retailers that “big problems lie ahead” if they do not start charging customers less.

    “Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY! They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

    “The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE! There will be no gauging, which is totally illegal. If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead!”

    Oil prices surged at the outset of the US-Israel war on Iran after Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s energy supplies flowed. Prices have since declined in response to the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran and the possibility of a final deal being reached.

US lawmaker calls for end to ‘US-backed war crimes’ in Lebanon

    Rashida Tlaib, a Democratic congresswoman, says she will force another vote in Congress to end US involvement in the Israeli “apartheid regime’s campaign of ethnic cleansing and territorial expansion” in Lebanon.

    “Congress must vote to end U.S. support for these atrocities and force an end to Israel’s invasion and illegal military occupation of Lebanese territory,” she wrote on X.

    “Over 4,250 people have been massacred. Twelve children are killed or maimed every day as these U.S.-backed war crimes continue,” she added.

Trump wants to move on from Iran war, says everything else is a ‘big yawn’

By Alan Fisher

Reporting from Washington, DC, US

    There was a great deal of talk [by Trump in the Oval Office] about domestic issues.

    And perhaps the idea that Trump wants to move on from it [the war on Iran] was summed up in one sentence during that moment in the Oval Office, where he said that everything except the SAVE America voting act, which he has been pushing for some considerable time, is “a big yawn”.

    Clearly, Trump would like to get talks [with Iran] back on track.

    We are told that [Trump’s envoy] Steve Witkoff will be with the other negotiating team in Doha on Tuesday. They perhaps hope to achieve an end to the fighting that we’ve seen, the breaches of the ceasefire from both sides. We are in a position where [those attacks] have stopped for the moment.

    Clearly, there is a degree of frustration as well among the mediators, who thought they managed to get both sides around the table. But it’s just a reminder of how difficult these processes are.

    Trump says he wants to have the meeting. He says the Iranians want to have the meeting. The Iranians say no. So, unless you’re actually in the room, we’re not going to know what the real answer is.

    But it’s clear that Trump wants to move on from this. Everything else, as he says, is a “big yawn”.

Trump says Doha talks will be ‘perhaps important, perhaps not’

    As we’ve been reporting, the US president announced the talks with Iran in a social media post. He also gave more details in subsequent comments to reporters at the White House.

    He said the US is doing very well in the fight to denuclearise Iran.

    “There’ll be a meeting on that tomorrow in Doha, and they’re going to Qatar there. I think they’ve already left, or they’re just about getting ready to leave. So we’ll see how that goes,” he said.

    “But the meeting in Doha is going to be, perhaps important, perhaps not. We’re going to find out, but we’re winning militarily. It’s almost won militarily, I would say. And it’s really very simple. It’s the denuclearisation of Iran. We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, and they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve agreed to that.”

A recap of recent developments

    US President Donald Trump claims Iran has “requested a meeting” following the exchange of strikes last week, and says it will take place in Doha today.

    Iran’s Foreign Ministry says there are no planned meetings “at any level” with the US in the coming days.

    But it says an Iranian expert delegation will be dispatched to Doha this week to follow up on the implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed on June 17, including the release of frozen Iranian assets.

    Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian slams the US’s “unreasonable boasting and “unfounded threats” and says Tehran will fulfil its obligations under the MoU if Washington adheres to it.

    Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has rejected Oman and France’s plans to begin de-mining operations in the Strait of Hormuz, warning Paris against “provocations” in a “sensitive and complex situation”.

    Israeli forces killed at least eight Palestinians in Gaza, including two children.

    Israel also attacked southern Lebanon, hitting the area between the towns of Qantara and Deir Siryan, despite signing an agreement with the Lebanese government to end hostilities.

    Trump said Iran requested the talks in the Qatari capital, but did not provide further details.

    But Iran has said there’s no such plan.

    In the past few days, Iran has fired on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, while the US launched strikes against Iranian sites in response to Tehran’s attacks.

    All this despite both sides signing the memorandum of understanding that brought in a ceasefire.

    Iran insists all ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz must coordinate with its Revolutionary Guard. Tehran says the safest routes pass near Iran’s Hormuz and Larak islands, close to the nation’s southern coast.

Welcome to our coverage

    Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of the United States and Israel’s war on Iran, as well as Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.

    Stay with us for the latest news and analysis from across the Middle East and beyond.