US, Iran hold technical talks on Hormuz shipping flow

DOHA/DUBAI, July 01 (Agencies): The US and Iran held technical talks in Doha on Wednesday as they seek to agree on the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and secure a lasting ceasefire, a source with direct knowledge of the talks and an Iranian official said.

US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff met the prime minister of Qatar - a mediator in the talks alongside Pakistan - to lay groundwork for the negotiations, but would not be attending the discussions themselves, the source with direct knowledge of the talks said.

The talks are based on a 14-point interim accord signed last month that was meant to halt the war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, whilst setting up 60 days of negotiations for a permanent peace deal.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States was getting along very well with Iran and that recent meetings in Qatar went well.

"The denuclearization of Iran is moving along well," Trump told reporters. "They've had very good meetings, and we'll see."

Iran will deliver an immediate and powerful response to any threat against its people or leadership, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an X post on Wednesday.

"POTUS has committed the US to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them," Araqchi said.

Meanwhile, Giant portraits of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's late supreme leader killed in US-Israeli airstrikes, hung from Tehran's Grand Mosalla on Tuesday as workers raced to prepare for his grand funeral ceremony.

His funeral, initially delayed at the height of the Middle East war, will take place as Iran and the United States observe a fragile ceasefire after signing a preliminary deal to halt the conflict.

Khamenei, a spiritual figure for many Shias, was killed aged 86 at his compound in the centre of the Iranian capital on February 28, the first day of the war. His public funeral will begin on Saturday, with his body lying in state at the colossal complex in central Tehran that hosts major Friday prayers, official ceremonies and religious gatherings.