TEHRAN, Jul 2: US President Donald Trump and mediators from Pakistan and Qatar have maintained that tangible progress has been made in Washington's talks with Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz since the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on June 18 that extended their ceasefire and launched a 60-day negotiating process.
"In Doha this week, both sides supposedly discussed the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran in dialogue with Oman," Eric Lob, a non-resident scholar in the Carnegie Middle East Program, told CBS News. "They also apparently addressed unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets in Qatar and elsewhere."
Both of those matters are included in the 14 points of the memorandum signed two weeks ago.
However, despite Trump's comments on Wednesday where he claimed that "the denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well," Lob said "it does not appear that the issue was tackled in an in-depth manner, if at all."
"Both sides seem to be prioritising the Strait of Hormuz and delaying discussing the complex and contentious nuclear programme," he said.
Trump has pushed hard for ship traffic through the strait to return to pre-war levels, due to the constrained flow of oil and gas tankers leading to heavy surges in global energy prices, as the Iran war saw Tehran virtually shutting down the strategic waterway, while the US blockaded Iranian ports and ships in a retaliation.
"Earlier in the talks, President Trump stated he would be willing to be flexible with the 60-day deadline involving the nuclear issue," said Lob.
"It will likely take more time for both sides to reach a comprehensive agreement, given it took President Obama and his administration approximately two years, if not longer, to do so with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015."
"Then again, President Trump and his administration are not starting from scratch. Since 2025, they have engaged in two rounds of negotiations with Iran, which were both abruptly interrupted by Israeli and American attacks." (UNI)
