U.S. tries to talk Iran out of tolls as talks resume in Doha

According to Axios, U.S. and Iranian negotiators are in Doha for high-stakes talks focused on the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran recently attacked commercial ships over a new shipping route. The core disagreement is clear: Iran says it has sovereignty over the waterway and wants to charge tolls once their current agreement expires in sixty days. The U.S. argues that Iran would gain far more from a nuclear deal—potentially billions in sanctions relief and economic access—than from toll revenue. But there's a breakthrough: the two sides reached a seven-day agreement this past week to halt military hostilities so talks can continue productively. Trump's top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Qatari mediators to clear the way for U.S. and Iranian technical teams to begin substantive negotiations. Vice President Vance reported Wednesday that while talks are still early, they're making progress. The U.S. pitch to Iran is simple: think bigger. According to officials, the sanctions relief from a nuclear deal would be roughly a hundred times more valuable than toll revenue.

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