US-Iran indirect talks underway in Doha
Shafaq News- Doha
Indirect technical talks between the United States and Iran are underway in the Qatari capital Doha, with Qatar and Pakistan serving as joint mediators, an informed source told Reuters on Wednesday, as both sides work to implement commitments under a June 17 Memorandum of Understanding.
The talks, lower-level and technical in nature, are being conducted through intermediaries, with neither side meeting face-to-face. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, senior adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump, laid the groundwork for the sessions during a meeting Tuesday with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, but are not participating directly. The sessions aim to build on progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit, according to a diplomat briefed on the talks.
Discussions are focused on two central issues: the release of frozen Iranian assets and the status of the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian official told Reuters. Around $6 billion in Iranian assets held in Qatar have yet to be transferred to Tehran, Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari confirmed, describing it as one of the most sensitive unresolved elements of the arrangement.
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf set a clear condition for any further progress: Tehran will not enter talks on a final agreement until Washington begins implementing key provisions of the June 17 interim deal, including halting military operations on all fronts, ensuring safe commercial passage through the Strait of Hormuz, issuing waivers for Iranian crude exports, and unfreezing Iranian assets. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed the delegation has no plans to meet American officials directly in Doha.
Qatar reaffirmed its mediation role and said all sides stressed the importance of consolidating the Lebanon ceasefire to preserve broader regional stability, describing Doha's goal as reaching a comprehensive and sustainable solution to the US-Iran standoff.
