U.S. Vice President JD Vance (L), Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (C) and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speak ahead of talks between the United States and Iran at the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21. On Friday, Qatari mediators traveled to Iran to try to reignite negotiations between the United States and Iran amid renewed fighting. Photo by Urs Flueeler/EPA
Qatari mediators have traveled to Iran in an effort to de-escalate tensions with the United States and reignite negotiations to end the war, unnamed sources familiar with the matter told media outlets Friday.
Sources told CNN, The New York Times and Al Jazeera the Qatari diplomats seek to create better conditions for talks to resume either in Qatar or Pakistan. The effort comes as President Donald Trump declared the cease-fire with Iran over.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks,'” Trump wrote Friday in a post on Truth Social. “We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”
The U.S. military resumed attacks on Iran this week after Iran attacked three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Qatari and Pakistani officials were heavily involved in the negotiations that saw the United States and Iran agree to a memorandum of understanding to establish a cease-fire, reopen navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and end the war between the two countries. Al Jazeera reported the mediators were in Iran on Friday in an attempt to make sure that work didn’t go to waste and that the MOU would hold and be built upon.
CNN reported that the Qatari officials’ trip to Iran was planned in coordination with the United States. The Times reported that fighting appeared to subside Friday, though Iran threatened to expand its attacks if U.S. strikes continued.
Iranians rally in Tehran with missile display
A missile identified as “Khorramshahr-4” was on display during a public rally in Tehran’s Enghelab Square on April 21, 2026. Photo by Behnam Tofighi/UPI | License Photo
