Trump to Host Qatar's Prime Minister as Rubio Sees No Imminent Iran Breakthrough

The meeting matters well beyond diplomacy. The conflict, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea and has pushed fuel prices up. Qatar has carried proposals between the two sides and tried to narrow their differences over Iran's nuclear programme and the terms for ending the fighting. Qatari and other mediators have put forward an interim arrangement to break the deadlock, according to the Associated Press.

Washington is sending mixed signals before the talks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that negotiations had made little progress and that he did not see a breakthrough coming soon. Speaking in Florida before he left for a G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Paris, Rubio said Trump preferred a diplomatic solution. But he called Iran's demands "unacceptable" and, in some cases, "outrageous and ridiculous, and really not realistic."

Trump struck a softer tone. In a CNN interview on Sunday he said new US strikes on Iran would be highly unlikely if negotiations progressed and produced a strong agreement. He added that the US had identified further infrastructure targets, including bridges, in case military action resumed.

Energy markets are watching the talks closely. Brent crude fell 17% last week, its biggest weekly percentage drop since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Arabian Gulf Business Insight, as traders weighed what the Democrats' midterm gains might mean for Trump's Iran policy and bet on a negotiated settlement. In early trading on Monday, Brent was down 0.2% at $98.08 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate was up 0.3% at $91.11, the publication said.

Attacks on the region's energy infrastructure have continued over the weekend. Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said falling debris from an attempted attack damaged an Aramco administrative building in Riyadh on Sunday, without causing injuries. Yemen's Houthis claimed responsibility. Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy said three oil tankers caught fire after hitting mines while using an unauthorised route through Hormuz, according to Iran's Fars news agency, and production at Iraq's Khor Mor gas field, operated by Sharjah-based Dana Gas, was halted after a drone strike.

The Gulf diplomacy is running alongside other talks. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are due in Abu Dhabi this week to meet Ukrainian and Russian officials about a possible settlement of the war in Ukraine. In Paris, G7 foreign ministers will discuss Iran, Ukraine, energy and artificial intelligence over two days. France has already signalled that the meeting will not end with a joint communique.

Neither the White House nor Qatar had said by Monday morning whether a statement would follow the Trump meeting.