U.S. envoys arrived in Qatar for meetings with mediators working to negotiate an end to the war with Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump's special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, flew to Qatar on Tuesday following a weekend of crossfire in the Persian Gulf over efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial ships. A spokesman for Qatar's foreign ministry says the U.S. delegation won't have any direct negotiations with Iranian diplomats. But Iran is sending representatives to the Qatari capital of Doha this week. That opens the possibility for Qatari mediators to pass messages between the two sides.

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.