The United States and Iran appeared to pause direct attacks on Monday after several days of strikes around the Persian Gulf, but the diplomatic picture remained unsettled as Washington and Tehran gave conflicting accounts of whether new talks are scheduled in Qatar.

President Donald Trump said Iran had requested a meeting with U.S. representatives and that talks would take place Tuesday in Doha. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were travelling to Qatar for the meeting, according to Associated Press reporting.

Iranian negotiator Kazem Gharibabadi publicly disputed that account, saying reports of technical talks in Doha were not confirmed. The contradiction leaves the status of the next diplomatic step unclear at a moment when both governments are trying to preserve an interim arrangement after a surge of attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

The waterway is one of the most important routes in global energy trade. Before the latest war began, roughly a fifth of the world's oil moved through the strait. Iranian attacks and threats had stopped or disrupted shipping, contributing to a wider energy shock before recent efforts to reopen routes through Oman and the Gulf.

The interim deal, as described by AP, calls for Iran to dilute enriched uranium while U.S.-backed sanctions are waived during a 60-day window for broader negotiations. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has also said $6 billion in Iranian assets held in Qatar would be released, but U.S. officials and Qatar have not confirmed that any transfer has taken place.

That gap matters. A claimed asset release could help Tehran defend the deal domestically, while Washington is under pressure to show that it has reduced both security risk and oil-market pressure. Trump said oil prices had fallen because of the Iran arrangement, but AP reported that U.S. and Brent crude prices remained above levels seen before the war began in late February.

For now, the verified picture is narrower than either side's political message. The strikes have paused, a disputed diplomatic track may be in motion, and the economic stakes remain high. Until Qatar, Washington and Tehran align on whether talks are actually scheduled, the pause should be treated as fragile rather than as a settlement.