Qatar Hosts Indirect US-Iran Talks Amid Standoff on Frozen Funds, Hormuz Tensions

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Doha on Tuesday for indirect talks with Qatari mediators, focusing on the fragile US-Iran deal and regional stability, even as both Washington and Tehran downplayed any direct high-level meetings. This diplomatic shuffle happens against a backdrop of fresh flare-ups in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and conflicting signals over the release of billions in frozen Iranian funds. The current talks are a critical follow-up to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on June 17, which aimed to halt a broader regional conflict and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz. However, just days before these Doha discussions, the waterway saw two commercial vessels attacked, drawing retaliatory US airstrikes against Iranian military targets and Iranian counter-strikes on US bases in the Gulf, pushing oil prices higher and raising fears of renewed escalation. Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared that $6 billion of Iran's $12 billion in frozen assets held in Qatar are now slated for release, though US officials remain cautious, stating no funds have actually moved yet. The dispute also touches on the complex Lebanon conflict, where a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is in place, yet Hezbollah recently rejected a framework peace deal. With Iranian expert delegations expected in Doha later this week for technical talks with Qatar on the frozen assets, the immediate focus is on whether these financial mechanics can be ironed out and if the Strait of Hormuz can genuinely stabilize. The ongoing lack of direct US-Iran meetings underscores the deep mistrust, and any misstep in the Gulf's shipping lanes or in the simmering Lebanon conflict could quickly derail the fragile MoU, making sustained peace a distant hope.