Politics
Gulf diplomacy
US and Iran end Doha round without deal on Strait of Hormuz as oil slides to four-month low
The United States and Iran concluded two days of indirect, Qatari- and Pakistani-mediated talks in Doha on 2 July without resolving control of the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for about a quarter of seaborne oil. The round focused on maritime traffic and unfreezing Iranian funds under June's Islamabad Memorandum. Oil fell to four-month lows, and the next round awaits the six-day funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei consolidates power.
