DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details.

The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran's claims to control the strait, which the world has long considered an international waterway. A fifth of all oil and natural gas passed through it in peacetime.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28, Iran has used its ability to choke off the waterway as a key source of leverage, disrupting global markets for energy and other critical goods.

The television report came as U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, were in Doha, Qatar, for talks seeking a permanent end to the war. Iran's top negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi, traveled to Qatar with a team as well.

Technical talks between diplomats began Wednesday in Qatar, said two regional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door discussions. Negotiators aim to nail down specifics to pave the way for top leaders to seal an agreement, though differences over the strait and Lebanon loom large.

The Strait of Hormuz is a key sticking point in talks

Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway.

The U.S. and many Gulf Arab states say they won't agree to the charges. An effort by Oman and a U.N. agency to launch a new route near Oman's shore sparked attacks across the Mideast last weekend, highlighting the tensions.

Iranian state TV on Wednesday said the ship "ran aground with its cargo because of shallow waters along the route it had chosen and was unable to continue sailing." It said shippers needed to follow the instructions of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the strait.

The Guard's navy has repeatedly warned that "any entry or exit through routes other than the 'Route of Authority' in the Persian Gulf could lead to irreparable incidents."

The report did not mention the two ships Iran attacked in recent days for daring to head out through the strait without Tehran's permission, including one carrying crude oil from Qatar.

Qatar meets with both sides

Witkoff and Kushner met Wednesday with Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and its foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to a statement by the Qatari government.

Discussions included details related to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters in the United States.

"Obviously, we're worried about the nuclear issue," Vance said. "We're going to start talking about that."

Sheikh Mohammed also met with Gharibabadi and other Iranian officials, with Pakistani mediators also on hand. Gharibabadi said the Iranian delegation had no direct talks with the American side, and its talks with mediators dealt with Lebanon and plans to return some of Iran's frozen assets, Iranian state media reported.