DOHA, August 4. /TASS/. The United States and Iran are still working towards a deal, as no agreement has been reached yet, Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesman Majed bin Mohammed Al-Ansari said.

"At this point, we cannot say that an agreement has been reached. <...> We are still trying to achieve one," he told a news conference. The diplomat stressed that the mediators had set no deadline for concluding a deal. "The situation could change in the coming hours or days," he added.

Asked what conditions were needed to resume negotiations, Al-Ansari said steps toward de-escalation were necessary. "Certain things need to happen on the ground before negotiations can resume. The first and most important are a return to the ceasefire, guarantees that vessels will not be attacked and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," the spokesman said. According to Al-Ansari, the minimum requirement is a return to the previous status quo in the strait in accordance with international law and in coordination with all coastal states.

On August 2, US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a planned major strike on Iran to facilitate a deal with Tehran. According to the US leader, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked Washington to refrain from attacking because the parties had agreed on the outlines of a future accord. The agreement is expected to include the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the elimination of the Iranian nuclear threat.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, however, said on August 3 that Trump’s claims about direct negotiations between Tehran and Washington were false. He stressed that Iran was negotiating only with Oman on ensuring safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Axios reported that Qatari mediators had held separate consultations in Doha with representatives of Iran, the United States and Oman, during which progress was made.