US-Iran war news Highlights: Oman, Iran weigh service fees for ships transiting Strait of Hormuz

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran and Oman held their first formal meeting on Monday to discuss the future management of the Strait of Hormuz following Tehran and Washington's preliminary agreement to end months of conflict in the Middle East.

Gharibabadi said the discussions took place in Muscat with both sides reaching what he described as "a common understanding" on administering the strategic waterway.

Iran says only Tehran will carry out mine clearance in the Strait of Hormuz under the Islamabad MoU with the US.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi made the statement in response to comments by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron said France and Oman are working to de-escalate Middle East tensions and would cooperate with partners on clearing mines from the strategic waterway.

Iran rejected the idea of foreign involvement, insisting mine clearance is its sole responsibility under the agreement.

Gharibabadi warned that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz remains "sensitive and complex".

He urged France not to complicate the situation, accusing Paris of making provocative statements. (Reuters)

Iran and Oman to hold talks on redefining shipping transit routes through the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed the planned discussions on state television.

The talks aim to redesign designated transit paths for commercial vessels using the strategic waterway.

Gharibabadi said Iran will seek to obstruct vessels operating outside the newly defined shipping lanes. (Reuters)

Brent crude climbed 1.25% to $72.89 a barrel, while US WTI gained 1.73% to $70.43 in Monday trading.

Crude prices advanced after the United States and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend, raising concerns over renewed conflict.

The latest military exchanges highlighted the vulnerability of the tentative US-Iran agreement aimed at ending the war, fueling concerns over potential disruptions to global oil supplies.

Lebanon President Joseph Aoun says Lebanon is committed to deploying its army along the entire southern border under a new framework agreement with Israel.

Aoun made the remarks during a meeting with US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper.

Iran-backed Hezbollah has opposed the agreement.

Oman and Iran are considering service-related fees for commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said.

The proposed charges would cover maritime services, not transit through the strait.

Services under consideration include:

Water safety measures

Pollution prevention

Navigational assistance

Emergency preparedness for incidents such as fires

Albusaidi stressed that Oman does not support transit fees or tolls for ships using the Strait of Hormuz. (AP)

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply over the weekend after fresh US-Iran strikes raised security concerns.

Ships avoided the Omani transit corridor.

Only four oil tankers and one container ship entered the Gulf via the corridor on Sunday, according to HFI Research.

All five vessels were escorted by US Navy ships while transiting the corridor, HFI Research said.

No vessels exited the Gulf through the same route on Sunday, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler. (AFP)

Iranian and US technical teams are expected to meet in Doha in the coming days to discuss implementation of the interim peace agreement, Reuters cited a source familiar with the talks as saying.

The planned discussions come after strikes from both US and Iran raised concerns about the stability of the fragile deal.

Mediators have reportedly established communication channels to quickly de-escalate any new incidents between the two sides.

Doha discussions will reportedly focus on managing the Strait of Hormuz and reducing regional tensions.

Qatar has temporarily suspended sailing and certain maritime activities until further notice.

The precautionary measure was announced by Qatar's Transport Ministry.

The suspension covers leisure boats, fishing boats, jet skis, and other small maritime vessels.

Commercial vessels covered under international maritime conventions are exempt from the order.

Authorities did not specify the reason for the suspension.

The move comes a day after Qatar said one of its nationals was killed by shrapnel sustained during "military operations in the region" after his vessel went missing.

The advisory follows heightened security concerns and ongoing regional tensions in Gulf waters.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets, part of a total $12 billion in Iranian assets, held in Qatar will be released.

Pezeshkian described the interim agreement as "a great victory for the Iranian people."

He said the release would take place "based on the plans made" and that follow-up procedures were underway.

The remarks were published by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.

Pezeshkian did not provide a timeline for when the funds would be transferred.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Doha for the discussions.

"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 sidelines of those high-level talks, will be the technical talks," Leavitt told Fox News.

She stressed that Washington remained committed to the ceasefire but would retaliate against further attacks.

"As far as we're concerned, we're holding up our end of the ceasefire. Violence will be met with violence."

Referring to recent attacks on commercial shipping, Leavitt added: "There were attacks on commercial vessels that the United States of America, directed by the president, responded to, and that will continue to happen, but we hope we don't see that. The president obviously wants to see the peace process play out."

US-Iran war news LIVE: U.S. President Donald Trump said a meeting on Iran would be held Tuesday in Doha, without giving further details.

"Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha," Trump wrote in all capital letters in a social media post on Monday.

Iran's foreign ministry on Monday denied reports that Iranian and American technical teams will meet in the coming days to discuss the implementation of the deal to end the Middle East war.

Both sides have traded fire in the Gulf in recent days, testing their fragile ceasefire.

"No technical meetings of the working groups are planned for this week," Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, quoted by state TV, referring to the Iranian week ending on Friday.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s posted another drop in global sales, hit by Middle East disruptions and tough competition in China that pushed the world’s top-selling automaker into a fourth straight month of decline, Bloomberg reported.

Gold fell to near $4,000 an ounce after the US and Iran traded attacks in the Persian Gulf, straining a ceasefire that pushed energy prices to pre-war levels last week and tempered expectations for interest-rate hikes.

Iran says no technical meeting expected with US in coming days

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key ally of Hezbollah, on Monday slammed a U.S.-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel, warning it could lead to attempts to divide Lebanese and said it would not be implemented. (Reuters)

Iranian and US technical teams working on the implementation of a memorandum of understanding are set to meet in Doha in the coming days, Reuters reported.

Mediators have established communications channels to de-escalate any incidents, and technical talks are set to continue, it said, citing a source.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s posted another drop in global sales, hit by Middle East disruptions and tough competition in China that pushed the world’s top-selling automaker into a fourth straight month of decline, Bloomberg reported.

Michel Suleiman, who served as Lebanon’s president from 2008 to 2014, has defended the agreement with Israel, saying the country must be kept out of military conflicts in “service of foreign interests," Al Jazeera reported.

Iran and Oman have conducted the first meeting of a joint committee on the Strait of Hormuz in Muscat, an Iranian deputy foreign minister said on his X account on Monday.

Kazem Gharibabadi said they had exchanged views on Gulf coastal states' sovereign rights as well as on the strait's future management based on the interim deal signed this month by Tehran and Washington.