Trump says U.S. and Iran to meet in Qatar after weekend attacks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) meets with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa during his visit to the Middle East to discuss the interim deal between the US and Iran with Arab Gulf allies, and to attend a meeting by the Gulf Cooperation Council Member States (GCC), at Al-Sakhir Palace, near Zallaq on June 25, 2026. Eric Lee/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

DUBAI — Iran and the U.S. traded attacks over the weekend, throwing into question technical talks that were set to take place this week to advance the interim deal agreed earlier this month.

During a tour of Gulf Arab states last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters the U.S. and Iran were planning to meet Monday or Tuesday for technical talks. He said the meeting was likely to take place in Switzerland.

But that was before Iran attacked a cargo ship on Thursday near Oman, just outside the Strait of Hormuz, setting off attacks by the U.S. in response and counterstrikes by Iran at U.S. military and naval bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, respectively.

The attacks also derailed U.N.-backed efforts to evacuate thousands of seafarers through a route near Oman following months of war and closure of the vital waterway.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which was not involved in clearing the route near Oman, warned Thursday that ships that do not coordinate passage with its naval forces "will be dealt with" as violators.

When asked about the current status of Iran-U.S. talks, a senior White House official not authorized to brief the press told NPR on Sunday "nothing has been cancelled" and that technical talks to implement the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran "are on track for the coming days as planned."

Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi, however, was quoted by Iranian media on Monday saying that while consultations continue with mediator Qatar, technical talks with the U.S. are not yet planned for this week and will be held only "when the conditions are met." He did not elaborate.

A cargo ship is pictured off coast of the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 28, 2026. AFP via Getty Images hide caption

The U.S. official did not respond to further questions, but added that "deconfliction channels are up and running after the Lake Lucerne Summit," referring to talks led by Vice President Vance in Switzerland two weeks ago.

At the conclusion of those talks, mediators Pakistan and Qatar said the two countries had agreed to establish a communication line "to avoid incidents" in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iranian officials said a "de-confliction cell" was created to monitor a parallel ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Weekend attacks test fragile ceasefire

U.S. Central Command says it struck missile and drone sites along Iran's territory bordering the Strait of Hormuz on Friday and Saturday, in response to Iran's attacks on two cargo ships, including one carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil.

Iran says it launched missiles at U.S. forces in Bahrain and Kuwait in counterstrikes, the two Gulf Arab countries Rubio visited just days earlier to reassure them of the U.S. commitment to their security and to hear their perspectives on the U.S.-Iran interim deal.

The U.S. and Iran accused one another of violating the ceasefire. President Trump warned Iran on Sunday, saying "it is very possible that they will never learn!"

"There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started," Trump wrote on social media. "If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!"

Iran's Claims on Strait of Hormuz

Gharibabadi said he visited Oman on Monday to exchange views on the future management of the Strait of Hormuz.

A day earlier, during a visit to Iraq, Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi told reporters that commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is supposed to return to pre-war levels within 30 days of the U.S.-Iran preliminary agreement that was signed, but he said the key waterway is under Iran's sole management.

Aragchi added that the responsibility to remove what he described as "obstacles" in the Strait of Hormuz and to ensure it re-opens "rests with the Islamic Republic of Iran."

It was not immediately clear if Aragachi was referring to mines the U.S. says Iran laid in the waterway during the war.