A bunch of individuals stands in shallow water as a cargo ship seems anchored within the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA through AP
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Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA through AP
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. and Iranian negotiators met individually on Wednesday with Qatari and Pakistani mediators, with “positive progress made,” they usually agreed to proceed discussions, host Qatar stated.
The subsequent assembly might be scheduled “at the earliest possible time” after the funeral of Iran’s earlier supreme chief, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s Overseas Ministry, stated on X. The funeral is ready to start out Saturday in Tehran.
U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, had been in Qatar for talks searching for a everlasting finish to the struggle, together with Iran’s high negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi.
Negotiators purpose to nail down specifics to pave the best way for high leaders to seal an settlement, although variations over the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon loom massive.
A ship ran aground within the strait whereas utilizing a route not accepted by Iran, state tv in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was recognized as a overseas container ship, with no different particulars.
The report appeared aimed toward underlining Tehran’s claims to regulate the strait, which the world has lengthy thought-about a global waterway. A fifth of all oil and pure gasoline handed by way of it in peacetime.
Because the U.S. and Israel launched the struggle towards Iran on Feb. 28, Iran has used its capability to choke off the waterway as a key supply of leverage, disrupting world markets for power and different vital items.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key sticking level in talks
Iran and america agreed as a part of an interim deal to permit ships to go with out paying fees for 60 days. However Tehran insisted it should management the routes of the vessels and later cost charges for passage, upending many years of observe within the waterway.
The U.S. and plenty of Gulf Arab states say they will not comply with the costs. An effort by Oman and a U.N. company to launch a brand new route close to Oman’s shore sparked assaults throughout the Mideast final weekend, highlighting the tensions.
Iranian state TV on Wednesday stated the ship “ran aground with its cargo because of shallow waters along the route it had chosen and was unable to continue sailing.” It stated shippers wanted to observe the directions of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard within the strait.
The Guard’s navy has repeatedly warned that “any entry or exit through routes other than the ‘Route of Authority’ in the Persian Gulf could lead to irreparable incidents.”
The report didn’t point out the 2 ships Iran attacked in current days for daring to go out by way of the strait with out Tehran’s permission, together with one carrying crude oil from Qatar.
Qatar meets with each side
Witkoff and Kushner met Wednesday with Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and its overseas minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in response to an announcement by the Qatari authorities.
Discussions included particulars associated to site visitors by way of the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Vice President JD Vance instructed reporters in america.
“Obviously, we’re worried about the nuclear issue,” Vance stated. “We’re going to start talking about that.”
Sheikh Mohammed additionally met with Gharibabadi and different Iranian officers, with Pakistani mediators additionally available. Gharibabadi stated the Iranian delegation had no direct talks with the American facet, and its talks with mediators handled Lebanon and plans to return a few of Iran’s frozen property, Iranian state media reported.
Lebanon stays a thorny problem within the negotiations. Iran has insisted that each one combating finish between the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah and Israeli army forces there.
Iran additionally has referred to as for Israel to surrender the land it now occupies in southern Lebanon. Israel insists it should maintain the territory and have a free hand to assault Hezbollah, which has been launching assaults into northern Israel.
Extra ships get out of Strait of Hormuz
Whereas ship site visitors within the strait dropped after the weekend assaults, extra international locations say their vessels have gotten out.
The Thai Overseas Ministry stated Tuesday that 10 out of 11 Thai-flagged vessels or vessels chartered by Thai operators have departed the strait safely. South Korean officers say all however two of the nation’s 26 vessels that had been stranded have left safely.
U.S. Navy searches for helicopter crew member within the Arabian Sea
In different developments Wednesday, a U.S. Navy helicopter made an emergency water touchdown into the Arabian Sea, leaving one crew member lacking, the Navy’s fifth fleet stated in an announcement.
The Navy stated there was “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.” It stated the MH-60S Sea Hawk went into the water at 3:30 a.m.
Three of the helicopter’s 4 crew members had been rescued, the assertion stated. The Navy was trying to find the lacking crew member.
The Navy assertion didn’t say whether or not the plane sank or was recovered. The helicopter was assigned to the united statesGeorge H.W. Bush, one among two plane carriers deployed within the waters off Iran.
