US-Iran Nuclear Talks Set to Resume After Khamenei Funeral Concludes

Here's where things stand: the US and Iran were in the middle of high-stakes peace talks when everything hit pause — because Iran is in the middle of burying its supreme leader.

To back up a little: back on February 28, 2026, the US and Israel launched large-scale strikes on Iran — and those attacks included the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. That kicked off a war that has been simmering ever since. Fast forward to June, and the two sides managed to sign a ceasefire agreement — formally called the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, or MoU for short. That MoU extended the ceasefire by 60 days, during which the two sides agreed to continue more detailed negotiations covering the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's frozen assets, long-term sanctions relief, and Tehran's nuclear program.

So the clock is ticking. And in that context, US and Iranian negotiators met in Doha, Qatar, on July 1st for a round of indirect technical talks — meaning the two sides didn't sit across from each other directly, but communicated through Qatari and Pakistani mediators. The Qatari Emir met US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, while Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi headed the Iranian technical team.

So what actually came out of those Doha talks? Diplomatically speaking: not a whole lot. Iran and the US concluded the round with no sign they had made headway toward a lasting peace — instead, the two countries focused on issues they said had already been resolved when the interim agreement was announced two weeks earlier. In other words, they're still arguing over the fine print of the deal they already signed.

Iranian officials said they were there to discuss unfreezing their assets, while Axios reported that US envoys were trying to persuade Iran not to introduce tolls for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Those are two very different priorities — which tells you a lot about where the gaps still are.

There's also a notable discrepancy over what was even agreed to. Trump called the meetings "very good," and American and Iranian officials said they agreed to open a communication channel to ensure the terms of their MoU are met — but according to Iran, the sides agreed on a partial release of billions in frozen Iranian funds, though US officials reportedly denied that such an understanding was reached. So even after the talks, the two sides can't agree on what they agreed on.

On the big stuff — Iran's nuclear program — VP JD Vance essentially said, stay tuned. Vance said talks in Doha were 'going well' and that discussions about the nuclear issue would start soon. But sources said the nuclear program did not actually come up in the Doha talks, which were technical in nature, with Vance saying that matter would be addressed later.

Now, talks are on hold entirely. Six-day funeral processions for Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli strike on the first day of the war, began Saturday in Iran and Iraq. Negotiations are set to resume on July 11, following the days-long funeral. The next round is expected to focus on Iran's nuclear program, frozen Iranian assets, the Strait of Hormuz, and the ceasefire in Lebanon.

Why does this matter to you personally? If you drive a car, fill up a tank, heat your home, or buy anything that gets shipped across an ocean — the Strait of Hormuz is your business. The initial deal calls for Iran and the US to allow shipping to resume through the Strait of Hormuz, which handled one-fifth of global oil and liquid natural gas trade before the war. Oil prices fell to their lowest level in four months following Trump's optimistic remarks — but the situation is still fragile. As one oil market analyst put it: "Hormuz continues to reopen but it's patchy, unpredictable, and not fully transparent."

The key issue of Iran's denuclearization, which the MoU lists among the matters to resolve during the 60 days, has barely been touched — though the negotiation period is "extendable with mutual consent." So we're likely in this for the long haul.