Trump Remains Committed to Diplomacy, Witkoff and Kushner Hold Positive Talks in Doha, 

JAKARTA - US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff had positive discussions with regional leaders in Qatar and technical talks with Iran are continuing, according to a senior administration official, as the two countries seek to ease tensions after recent attacks that jeopardized a fragile ceasefire.

Witkoff and Kushner are in Doha as part of ongoing indirect talks between the US and Iran aimed at forming a long-term peace deal, Al Arabiya reported with Bloomberg (1/7).

The interim agreement signed earlier this month opens the door to a 60-day negotiation period, but the effort has faced setbacks in recent days after a series of clashes in the Strait of Hormuz.

Witkoff and Kushner returned to Doha for discussions after the US and Iran agreed to halt their new attacks. However, the uncertainty shrouding their discussions highlights the complicated nature of the talks and the complicated road ahead for Washington and Tehran as they seek to broker a broader deal.

Qatari officials have played down expectations of new negotiations, saying President Donald Trump's envoys would not meet directly with their Iranian counterparts.

Senior administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide the latest information on the discussions, said progress continued to be made in separate technical talks, conducted by lower-level representatives.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing unnamed US officials, reported late Tuesday that President Trump had decided not to pursue a broad military campaign, telling his staff that he did not mind if negotiations were extended beyond the August 18 deadline.

The report quoted US officials as saying President Trump had considered returning to an all-out war with Iran, noting he had held several conversations in recent days with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine about further attacks, but had decided to stick to diplomatic talks for now.

The WSJ also said President Trump "is currently content with ordering a single attack on Iran" when it violates the memorandum of understanding.

Among the key issues still unresolved are the release of billions of dollars' worth of Iranian assets and the future management of the strait, which before the war handled around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

Iran insists it will have some control over maritime traffic through the waterway and has signaled some vessels may have to pay fees for transit, raising the stakes in the negotiations.

On the other hand, any proposal to impose fees has been strongly opposed by the US, Europe and most of the Arab Gulf countries.

A memorandum of understanding signed online by President Trump and President Masoud Pezeshkian in mid-June stated that Iran would not impose tolls for 60 days, but left open the possibility that ships might be forced to pay some fees after that.