US-Iran Doha Round Ends Centred on Reopening Strait of Hormuz
Two days of technical talks between American and Iranian delegations concluded in Doha on Wednesday evening, with negotiators focused on restoring maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Washington is pressing Tehran to abandon plans to charge transit tolls on shipping as the price of reopening the waterway. President Trump said the two sides were “getting along well”, though no date was announced for a further round. The talks stayed at technical level after Iran declined to meet US envoys directly earlier in the week.
The toll question goes to the heart of what the war changed: Iran emerged from the spring fighting with effective control over the world’s most important oil chokepoint and wants to monetise it, while Washington insists free navigation is non-negotiable. Oil trading near $71 a barrel suggests markets increasingly price the de-escalation holding. The technical track’s survival despite the diplomatic downgrade suggests both sides want an agreement more than a confrontation. Watch whether the next round is upgraded back to envoy level — that would signal real progress.