Middle east war: US, Iran hold indirect talks in Qatar

US President Donald Trump said progress had been made Wednesday in indirect talks with Iran in Qatar, as the sides aimed to push forward their negotiations on ending the Middle East war and quell tensions following exchanges of fire.

The head of the Iranian delegation, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, later announced the talks’ conclusion.

He reported that the participants had agreed “a communication channel would be established by tomorrow (today)” to report and record violations of the parties’ initial memorandum of understanding.

Iran had insisted there would be no direct negotiations in Doha on the deal to end the war, which broke out with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

“As far as things are going, the denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to board his new Air Force One, which was donated by Qatar last year.

“We hit them very hard… but we’re getting along very well.”

The memorandum of understanding, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, culminated in a summit last month in Lucerne, Switzerland.

It includes a 60-day ceasefire pausing the war, the reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, and a timeframe for a final deal to permanently end the conflict and reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme.

‘Engagement continues’

The Qatar discussions, being held at a lower level and focused on the details of the MoU, were to “build on the progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit”, a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Tehran denied an earlier claim by Trump that there would be direct talks in Doha, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei saying the country’s delegation had “no plans for negotiations with the American side at any level over the coming days”.

In addition to the new communications channel, Gharibabadi said the discussions touched on the fate of frozen Iranian assets, which Tehran has demanded be released as part of the settlement.

“During the meetings with Qatari officials, including the Central Bank, a number of issues related to the expenditure of part of the initial six billion dollars were reviewed,” he said.

“It was agreed that, based on the needs communicated by our country, the required goods would be purchased and made available to Iran.”

US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were not taking part in the technical talks, the anonymous diplomat told AFP, after they met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said the trio discussed the ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran, as well as developments in Lebanon.

On Wednesday, the office of Qatar’s emir also said the two US envoys had met with Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Anna Jacobs, non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told AFP it was “very early in the negotiation process and battles are being fought privately and publicly”.

“The overall positive message is that they are continuing to engage after the clashes last week,” she said.

‘Implementation challenges’

Since the signing of the US-Iran deal last month, both sides have exchanged fire in the Gulf, with Tehran targeting a commercial ship it said had deviated from its approved route through the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command responded by saying it had attacked 10 Iranian military targets.

Iran then hit back with strikes against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, which both condemned Tehran for the attacks.

Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tuesday that “when a war of this magnitude comes to an end… it is inevitable that there will be implementation challenges, incidents and differences of opinion, especially where parties such as the Israeli regime are concerned”.

He said the Iranian delegation in Doha would be focused on the implementation of clauses in the deal related to the Strait of Hormuz and fighting in Lebanon.

The exchanges of fire appeared to have calmed in the days leading up to the talks in Qatar.

On the Lebanon front, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has also been relatively quiet.

Iran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March with rocket fire at Israel, triggering Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion.

Tehran has insisted any deal should include an end to the parallel conflict in Lebanon and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from its south, part of which they have occupied.

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