Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump became friends over a deli sandwich. Now the friends political associates are working together in an attempt to broker a fledgling piece with Iran.

Witkoff, who runs a real estate development and investment firm, is a longtime friend and golf partner of Trump. He played a less visible role during Trump's first term, serving on the board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Since Trump’s re-election, the billionaire has served as the United States special envoy to the Middle East and special envoy for peace missions.

He played a key role in negotiating a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas earlier this year, alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Prior to his political career, Witkoff enjoyed successful business dealings in the Middle East and strong relationships with the Qatari government, which were reported to be a key source of funds for his company, the Witkoff Group.

The real-estate developer and investor also served during the first Trump administration as member of the Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups, set up to deal with the economic impact of the Covid pandemic.

He has been highly visible during Israel-Gaza ceasefire negotiations and was selected by Trump to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine and the US and Iran.

The signing of a memorandum of understanding between US president Donald Trump and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian was seen by many Iranians not as the end of a crisis, as portrayed by Washington and Tehran, but as a symbol of “political betrayal” and “America’s historic failure”.

In messages sent to Independent Persian, readers from various cities across Iran said that after 39 days of war, Trump ultimately agreed to a deal with the Islamic Republic while the core power structure in Tehran remains intact, the influence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has grown, and ordinary Iranians have been left to cope with economic hardship, destroyed homes, unemployment and a new wave of executions.

Iran and the US have issued conflicting statements about forthcoming discussions. Here is an overview of what could be discussed.

• Iran and the US have reportedly agreed to halt recent strikes and renew talks regarding their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
• The two nations are expected to meet on Tuesday in Qatar, according to Axios, citing a senior US official.
• This development could end hostilities that had threatened an interim peace agreement signed less than two weeks ago.
• Both sides had recently traded attacks in the Gulf, each accusing the other of violating the earlier deal.
• Iran claimed a joint missile and drone operation targeting US military sites, while the US had struck Iran after a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's foreign ministry said a delegation will be in Doha over the next two days, but the team will not meet with US officials.

Instead, the group will pursue, through the Qatari mediator, the implementation of US commitments under the memorandum of understanding, according to deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi.

President Donald Trump had said that Iran-US talks would be held in Doha today. However, Iran dismissed the statement, saying no talks have been ⁠scheduled for the coming days.

Egypt’s foreign ministry condemned Israeli attacks on Syria on Monday.

It affirmed its “complete rejection of any violations affecting the sovereignty of Arab states or their territorial integrity, renewing its full solidarity with Syria and support for all efforts to preserve its unity and sovereignty.”

As Israeli troops and vehicles entered the town of Abdin in southern Syria, residents blocked the roads with rocks, and some young men and boys threw stones to push back the military patrol.

Tensions in this part of the country created by a buffer zone occupied by Israeli forces have flared into violence in recent days, leaving residents anxious that more escalation is coming. Residents of Abdin, located near a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone now controlled by Israeli troops, tried to resist against a military incursion Sunday.

A foreign ministry spokesperson for Qatar has confirmed that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be in Qatar to meet mediators to discuss negotiations.

“There is ho high level meeting between the US and Iran planned,” they said on Tuesday, appearing to confirm reports by Iran.

Iran's president said Monday that $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets would be released by Qatar as negotiations with the United States were challenged by attacks across the Persian Gulf this weekend.

Masoud Pezeshkian 's mention of the funds appear aimed at selling the Iranian public on the interim deal, particularly as its grip on the Strait of Hormuz has been challenged by efforts to open Oman's territorial waters to both inbound and outbound traffic from the Persian Gulf. Iran's attacks and threats stopped cargo ships and tankers from moving though the strait, in which about a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed in peacetime, creating a global energy crisis.

Syria has condemned Israeli incursions and shelling in the south of the country, a day after an escalation in the village in Daraa province forced its residents to temporarily flee, according to local officials. Israel has said it is defeating terrorists in the region.

“Syria is not a testing ground for foreign conspiracies, nor a place for carrying out the ambitions of others at the expense of the blood of our children and women,” said Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa.