Qalibaf, Araqchi and Iran’s central bank chief meet Qatar’s prime minister as Washington and Tehran say no deal is imminent; talks focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, uranium stockpiles and frozen fundsIranian top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi are in Doha for talks with Qatar’s prime minister on a potential U.S.-Iran deal to end the three-month-old conflict, an official briefed on the visit said Monday, even as both Tehran and Washington played down hopes for an imminent breakthrough.The discussions are focused primarily on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the official told Reuters. Iran’s central bank governor is also part of the delegation to discuss the potential release of frozen Iranian funds as part of a final agreement, according to the official.2 View gallery Mojtaba Khamenei, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and US President Donald Trump (Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP, REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool, Mandel NGAN / AFP)U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in New Delhi that Washington would give diplomacy every chance to succeed before exploring “alternatives,” after President Donald Trump said Sunday he had told his representatives not to rush into any Iran deal.There was a “pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the strait, get the strait of Hormuz open, enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter, and hopefully we can pull it off,” Rubio said.Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday that any agreement would either be “great and meaningful, or there will be no deal at all.”Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said at a weekly briefing Monday that understandings had been reached on many issues, but said that did not mean “we’re close to signing an agreement.”The potential memorandum of understanding contains 14 points and focuses on ending the war and the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, in exchange for Iran taking steps to ensure safe transit through the strategic waterway, Baghaei said.At present, he said, the talks are not focused on the nuclear issue, which would be negotiated over a 60-day period if the framework agreement is approved.Trump has said his key aim in the war is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon with its highly enriched uranium. Tehran has consistently denied it has any plans to do so.A day earlier, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the U.S. blockade on Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz would “remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”Baghaei said the potential accord contains no specific details on management of the strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows.Iran will not charge tolls for ships passing through the strait, Baghaei said. However, he added that there would be a cost for services such as navigation and environmental protection under a protocol to be agreed with Oman, which shares the opposite shore of the waterway.The strait has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, with only a trickle of vessels passing through compared with about 125 to 140 daily before the conflict.Its closure has caused a spike in oil prices and triggered an energy crisis, driving up the cost of fuel, fertilizer and food.Oil prices fell more than 4% to two-week lows Monday as optimism grew that the U.S. and Iran were moving closer to a peace deal.The two sides remain at odds on several difficult issues, including Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israel’s war in Lebanon with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, and Tehran’s demands for the lifting of sanctions and the release of tens of billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks.Iranian media reported Monday that central bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati had traveled to Qatar following talks with a Qatari delegation in Tehran regarding Iran’s frozen funds.Iranian sources previously told Reuters that in future stages, “feasible formulas” could be found to resolve the dispute over Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile, including diluting the material under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog.Trump, whose approval ratings have been hit by the war’s impact on U.S. energy prices and who has faced congressional efforts to curb his war powers, has repeatedly emphasized the prospect of a deal to end the conflict launched by the U.S. and Israel.A tenuous ceasefire has held since early April.The president hit back at critics of his handling of the negotiations and his willingness to compromise with Iran.“If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one ... So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about,” Trump posted Sunday.