US and Iran Set for High-Level Talks in Qatar Amid Escalating Conflict
President Donald Trump on Feb. 28 announced what he described as "major combat operations" against Iran, launching a wave of joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes that hit military, government, and infrastructure sites across the country. The offensive marked a sharp escalation in a conflict that has seesawed between airstrikes and diplomatic overtures in recent weeks.
The U.S. and Iran traded fresh aerial strikes over the weekend, a tit-for-tat that began after an Iranian attack on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Washington. A U.S. official told ABC News that both sides agreed Sunday to halt those exchanges and allow tankers to transit the strait without interference — a rare sign of mutual restraint after days of back-and-forth.
Delegations from Washington and Tehran entered negotiations earlier this month aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries. That framework, which has not been publicly detailed, is now the centerpiece of talks expected to continue in Doha.
President Trump said Monday that a U.S. team was heading to Doha, Qatar, even as Iranian state media reported that no direct negotiations would take place between the two sides there. Trump indicated the team would discuss Iran's nuclear program during Tuesday's meeting. "I think they've already left, or they're just about getting ready to leave. So we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "The meeting in Doha is going to be, perhaps important, perhaps not, we're gonna find out."
Trump then declared the war was "almost won militarily," but added that the goal remained clear. "It's really very simple. It's the denuclearization of Iran. We don't want them to have a nuclear weapon and they're not gonna have a nuclear weapon," he said.
-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff will brief Congress on Iran during a 4 p.m. ET conference call on Monday, according to multiple sources. The unclassified phone briefing will be open to all House and Senate members, sources said. It is the first member-wide briefing since President Trump signed the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran. A separate, classified briefing for members of relevant committees is expected later this week, sources added.
The House is in session this week, with first votes scheduled Monday night. The Senate is on a two-week July 4 recess.
-ABC News' Jay O'Brien and Lauren Peller
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Fox News on Monday that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would represent the U.S. at Tuesday's meeting with Iran in Qatar, which President Trump announced. She described these talks as separate from ongoing technical negotiations. "I just spoke with the president about it," Leavitt said. "Iran has requested a meeting this week. So, special envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be flying to Doha for high-level meetings this week as we continue to discuss the memorandum of understanding. On the sideline of high-level talks will be technical talks."
-ABC News' Fritz Farrow
Earlier Monday, President Trump posted on social media that, at Iran's request, a meeting would take place Tuesday in Doha, without naming participants.
-ABC News' Fritz Farrow
Meanwhile, on another front, the Israel Defense Forces launched strikes on what it described as three Hezbollah command centers in southern Lebanon, saying the attacks were a response to ceasefire violations. "These strikes came in response to the terror organization Hezbollah's continued targeting of our forces operating in the security zone," Avichay Adraee, an IDF spokesperson, said on social media.
The fighting in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah — the Iran-backed militant group based in Lebanon — has threatened to derail ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations. The U.S. on Friday announced a "framework" for future talks between Israel and Lebanon, facilitated by Washington, aimed at ending the fighting in Lebanon. Hezbollah rejected that framework Saturday, vowing to continue its resistance and hold on to its weapons.
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have said Israel plans to remain in a "security zone" in southern Lebanon. Early Monday, the Israeli Air Force struck alleged Hezbollah command centers in Nabatieh and Mayfadoun in southern Lebanon, according to the IDF. "Additionally, troops struck and dismantled a launcher that Hezbollah continued using to attack them," the IDF said on social media.
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