Peace negotiations between Iran and the United States remained on track on Tuesday, even as Tehran condemned US air strikes on Iranian targets as an act of bad faith. The Iranian foreign ministry described the attack, which targeted missile launchers and mine-laying efforts in the Strait of Hormuz, as a definitive violation of the ceasefire, but it stopped short of withdrawing from talks being mediated by Pakistan and Qatar.
The strikes killed four Iranian soldiers, yet Iran's military announced no specific reprisals, signalling a desire not to disrupt the final stages of a deal Tehran hopes to present as a milestone. Brent oil futures climbed 4 per cent following news of the renewed fighting.
US President Donald Trump had been due to convene a rare cabinet meeting at Camp David, but postponed it citing bad weather. On Truth Social, he repeated a rambling post claiming Democrats and the media would proclaim an Iranian victory even if Tehran surrendered.
In Doha, Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, spent a second day seeking to unlock more than $12bn in frozen Iranian assets and secure sanctions relief for oil and petrochemical exports during a 60-day period set aside for nuclear talks. A separate 30-day timeframe would see the US lift its blockade of Iranian oil ports and Iran allow commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Progress has been reported on the asset issue, but Iranian MP Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani claimed a plan to transfer $12bn via Qatar to a Russian account had been thwarted by the US at the last minute. He warned that if the war restarted, Iran knew the whereabouts of hotels in Doha and Dubai used by US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, adding that 'next time they would be hit'.
Tehran is also seeking to strengthen a section committing Israel to a ceasefire in Lebanon. The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for residents of 19 villages in southern Lebanon as it expanded operations against Hezbollah, prompting concerns that the conflict was escalating rather than winding down.
