Middle East latest: Donald Trump says Iran has requested a meeting to happen Tuesday in Qatar
The US President made the announcement on Truth Social, just hours after Iranian officials denied any meeting was scheduled.
President Donald Trump says Iran has requested a meeting with the US for Tuesday in Qatar following a wave of weekend attacks that appeared to threaten the interim ceasefire deal in the Middle East.
Mr Trump’s Truth Social announcement came despite Iranian officials previously saying no meeting has been scheduled with America.
The bizarre update follows a weekend of tit-for-tat strikes on cargo vessels and then on Iranian forces that threatened the seemingly tenuous interim ceasefire agreement announced by Mr Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian two weeks ago.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
While there was no immediate response from Tehran, Iranian officials had earlier told media no meetings were scheduled in the wake of the weekend’s attacks over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
In recent days, Iran has twice attacked vessels going through the Strait on a route near the Omani side, drawing retaliatory American airstrikes and concerns that negotiations to reach a formal end to the war could be disrupted. Iran launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday.
Pezeshkian says $6 billion coming to Iran
However, Iranian leader Mr Pezeshkian earlier offered praise for the interim deal as he claimed $US6 billion ($8.7b) in frozen Iranian assets would be released by Qatar.
In comments published Monday by the state-run IRNA news agency, Mr Pezeshkian described the ceasefire deal as “a great victory for the Iranian people.”
“Based on the plans made, $6 billion out of the total $12 billion of Iranian resources in Qatar will be released and returned to the country, and necessary follow-ups are being carried out,” he said. He did not elaborate.
Mr Pezeshkian, a reformist within Iran’s theocracy, is the highest-ranking official within Iran to reference the release of the funds held by Qatar, a key mediator along with Pakistan in the negotiations.
So far, US officials say no frozen Iranian assets have been released. Qatar as well as has not acknowledged any such transfer. Iran has also attacked a tanker filled with Qatari crude oil this weekend during the crossfire in the Persian Gulf.
Mr Trump on Monday celebrated that US oil futures were trading at roughly $US69 a barrel, a decrease that he credited to the interim deal with Iran.
Even though the President has previously said oil prices and domestic political concerns were not influencing his approach to Iran, he has repeatedly focused on lower oil prices with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as a key victory.
The President falsely claimed that oil prices at $US69 a barrel are lower than they were before the war. “This is less than it was prior to the start of the Denuclearization of Iran!” Mr Trump said on social media.
Oil futures in the US were trading at a range of roughly $US65 to $US66 before the war began in late February.
