2026-07-01T11:31:18+00:00
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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.