After Iran and the United States traded a series of attacks across the Persian Gulf over the past week, the two sides appear to be turning back to diplomacy to try to stave off further escalation.<\/p>\n
Attention has now shifted to Doha, the Qatari capital, where American and Iranian negotiators held indirect talks via mediators on Wednesday. Oil prices have fallen and ship traffic has risen in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil exports, on hopes that negotiations could lead to a more enduring cease-fire.<\/p>\n
The recent upsurge of violence was the most serious test yet of a preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement<\/a> signed last month, which halted the war but deferred discussions about many of the thorniest issues.<\/p>\n The deal, which gave the two countries 60 days to negotiate a comprehensive agreement, has left much unresolved, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, where a standoff over commercial shipping rapidly escalated<\/a> into the recent military confrontation.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n Diplomacy has resumed \u2014 but indirectly.<\/p>\n Direct talks between top U.S. and Iranian officials took place in Switzerland last week, but no face-to-face or high-level meetings are expected this week in Qatar. Instead, the two sides were expected to hold indirect talks<\/a> via Pakistani and Qatari mediators on Wednesday, according to a U.S. official.<\/p>\n President Trump expressed optimism about the talks on Wednesday, though he offered no specifics. \u201cThey\u2019ve had very good meetings, and we\u2019ll see,\u201d he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, met Qatar\u2019s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, on Wednesday, according to Iranian state media. Officials from Iran, Qatar and Pakistan then held a trilateral meeting to \u201creview progress\u201d in carrying out the U.S.-Iran agreement, according to IRNA, Iran\u2019s state news agency.<\/p>\n Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two of Mr. Trump\u2019s closest advisers, met Sheikh Mohammed on Tuesday, as well as Qatar\u2019s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Wednesday. According to Qatari statements, the meetings focused on the preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement, progress in the negotiating process and broader efforts to promote regional security.<\/p>\n The Iranian Foreign Ministry said this week that its delegation\u2019s meeting with mediators in Qatar would focus on carrying out the terms of the preliminary agreement, including the release of frozen Iranian assets held overseas. Tehran has insisted that no meeting with American officials had been scheduled \u201cat any level.\u201d<\/p>\n The lack of face-to-face talks underscores the distrust that remains between the two sides, and their conflicting interpretations of what was agreed to last month.<\/p>\n Tensions remain over the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Traffic through the strait has rebounded in recent days, but the dispute that set off the fighting is not resolved, leaving shipping vulnerable to another flare-up.<\/p>\n The United States says the preliminary agreement should restore unrestricted commercial navigation through the waterway. Iran, however, claims it has authority over how ships move through it, including which routes they use, and it has threatened vessels that do not follow its instructions.<\/p>\n