Indirect technical talks between US and Iranian officials began in Doha on Wednesday through intermediaries, as part of diplomatic efforts to ease tensions following strikes exchanged between the two sides.
Both the United States and Iran announced that they would send officials to Qatar for meetings as part of implementing the terms of the memorandum of understanding with Iran to permanently end the war in the Middle East, but Iran denied any intention of holding direct negotiations with the Americans.
A diplomat familiar with the negotiations, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed to AFP that talks were underway, after previously reporting that “American and Iranian officials are holding indirect technical talks in Doha on Wednesday through Qatari and Pakistani mediators.”
A senior Iranian official told Reuters today that indirect talks between Tehran and Washington have been ongoing since Tuesday evening in Doha, adding that the discussions are focused on the release of frozen Iranian funds and the Strait of Hormuz.
The diplomat added that the talks, which will be held at a low level and focus on the details of the memorandum of understanding, “will build on the progress made during the Lake Lucerne summit” in Switzerland.
The memorandum, signed by both sides on June 17 with Qatari and Pakistani mediation and culminating in a summit in the Swiss city of Lucerne, stipulated several provisions, most notably a 60-day ceasefire on all fronts in the war that erupted on February 28 with American and Israeli strikes on Iran, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the American blockade on Iranian ports, the release of a portion of Tehran’s frozen assets, and the establishment of a timeframe for a final agreement to end the war and reach an understanding regarding the Iranian nuclear program.
Tehran announced it was sending a team of experts to Qatar on Wednesday, but denied what US President Donald Trump had said about holding direct talks.
Implementation difficulties
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei indicated that the Iranian delegation would be headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, but stressed that “no negotiation meetings with the United States will be held at any level.”
The same informed diplomat said that the American envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Wittkopf would not participate in these technical talks.
Kushner and Woitkoff met on Tuesday with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and discussed with him “the latest developments in the ongoing talks between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” according to a statement from the State Department.
The meeting also addressed, according to the same source, the ceasefire in Lebanon, “and stressed the importance of consolidating it and building upon it in a way that preserves Lebanon’s unity, sovereignty and stability.”
Despite the signing of the US-Iranian memorandum of understanding, tensions between Tehran and Washington flared up again last weekend, with the two sides exchanging fire in sporadic skirmishes stemming from Iran’s assertion of sovereignty over transit through the Strait.
The US Central Command announced at the end of the week that it had carried out strikes on ten Iranian military targets because of “Iran’s continued aggression against commercial shipping,” while Tehran reported that it had responded by carrying out strikes on US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, which condemned the Iranian targeting of them.
“When a war of this magnitude ends… there are bound to be difficulties in implementation, incidents, and differences of opinion, especially when the parties involved are like the Israeli entity,” said Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament and chief negotiator in talks with the United States, in a television interview on Tuesdays
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed down over the weekend.
Representatives of employers and unions in the global shipping industry announcd in joint statement Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain classified as a war zone until at least July 9.
Amid the uncertainty surrounding the future of the situation in the region, the price of Brent crude, which is the benchmark in the global oil market, remained stable on Wednesday at a level slightly above $70.
Relative calm
Qalibaf said the Iranian delegation would focus on implementing the clauses related to the war in Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz.
He stressed that “the Islamic Republic is naturally committed to ensuring the implementation of the agreement, and the enemy, namely the United States and its ally, must also fulfill its obligations.”
The exchange of fire appeared to have subsided in the daysleading up to the talks in Qatar.
On the Lebanese front, the confrontations between Israel and Hezbollah have calmed down relatively.
Tehran stressed that any agreement must include an end to the parallel war in Lebanon and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the part of southern Lebanon that they occupy.
However, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz asserted on Wednesday during a memorial ceremony for soldiers killed in the 2006 war with Lebanon that “the Israeli army will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza for an indefinite period,” in order to protect the residents of the Jewish state and its towns “from jihadist elements.”
Katz added, "We will not withdraw from the security zones," warning Tehran again that it would be "forcefully" attacked if it attacked Israeli forces fighting in Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a visit Tuesday to the part of southern Lebanon occupied by his forces, said: “We say to Iran and Hezbollah: Leave this place, you no longer have a place here… There are two sovereign states that want to live in peace and achieve security and prosperity, whether for the residents of northern Israel or the residents of southern Lebanon.”
Qalibaf also said that Iranian oil exports have increased significantly since the lifting of the US embargo on the Islamic Republic's ports.
He added in his interview with state television, “From the day the embargo was lifted until today, we have exported more than 40 million barrels of oil.”
He continued, “In contrast, during the previous fifty to sixty days or so, we were not actually able to export even a single barrel of oil.”
