The United States and Iran have separately announced they are sending delegations to Qatar this week, though Tehran insists it has not agreed to meet with the U.S. "at any level." The announcements Monday came after weekend attacks in the Persian Gulf challenged efforts to negotiate an end to the war. U.S. President Donald Trump has tried to preserve a fragile interim deal as hostilities mounted in recent days in the Strait of Hormuz. After four days of trading strikes, both sides appeared to pause their attacks Monday. A spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry says its delegation traveling to Qatar plans to discuss terms of the deal without U.S. involvement.
By MATT SEDENSKY and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press
Travelers are scrambling for ways out of the Middle East as the Iran war keeps much of the region's airspace closed and flights grounded. The conflict that started Saturday when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran stranded airline passengers in major Mideast cities as well as in countries far from the threat of airstrikes. With commercial flights tightly restricted across much of the Gulf for a fourth day, many were unsure what to do and appealed to their governments for information and exit strategies. The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that it was "actively securing" military and charter aircraft to fly Americans out of the region.
Iran and the United States have held indirect talks in Oman. The negotiations, while praised by Iran and Oman, appeared to be a return to the starting point on how to approach discussions over Tehran's nuclear program after multiple rounds were held last year before Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran. The presence of U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American military's Central Command, at the talks Friday in Muscat also served as a reminder that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships stood off the coast of Iran in the Arabian Sea. President Donald Trump has threatened to use force to compel Iran into a deal.
