A diplomat familiar with the talks revealed that U.S. and Iranian officials will hold indirect technical-level talks today in Doha, the capital of Qatar, regarding the bilateral agreement.
According to AFP, the diplomat said, “US and Iranian officials will hold indirect technical talks in Doha on Wednesday, through mediators in Qatar and Pakistan , to discuss a memorandum of understanding built on the outcomes of the Lake Lucerne Summit.”
The diplomat also stated that Jared Kushner , President Trump’s son-in-law, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff would not participate in the technical-level talks. The two had already met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani yesterday.
Both the United States and Iran had previously stated that they would send officials to Qatar to attend the meeting.
The memorandum of understanding, brokered by Qatar and Pakistan, includes a 60-day ceasefire, the reopening of the blocked Strait of Hormuz, and a timetable for ending the war and reaching a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.
Iranian officials are scheduled to travel to Doha today, but Tehran has denied Trump’s earlier statement that direct talks are imminent.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed that Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi will lead the Iranian delegation, but said officials “have no plans to hold any level of negotiations with the United States in the coming days.”
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry stated that Kushner and Wykov met with the Qatari Prime Minister yesterday. The ministry’s statement noted that they discussed “the ongoing negotiations between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran under the Memorandum of Understanding” and the developments in Lebanon.
