Top US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Doha on Tuesday for meetings with Qatari mediators to discuss regional issues, including negotiations with Iran. However, both Qatar and Iran clarified that no high-level meeting between Washington and Tehran is planned for Tuesday or the coming days, contradicting a Monday claim by US President Donald Trump.
Qatar Denies Direct US-Iran Talks
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari stated that Witkoff and Kushner are in Doha to meet with mediators and Qatari officials, with discussions covering all regional issues, including negotiations with Iran and Lebanon. “They are not here for their negotiations with the Iranians,” Ansari told a media briefing. He clarified that no high-level meetings or direct talks between the United States and Iran were planned in Doha. “To the best of my knowledge, there are no direct meetings scheduled between the two parties in the coming days,” he added, noting that no high-level Iranian delegation was in Qatar.
Technical Talks to Proceed Instead
Instead of high-level talks, so-called technical talks will take place this week on issues including regional security, which could later be elevated to senior level. Ansari said the technical meetings “are ongoing… and they haven’t stopped.” They include “tracks on the nuclear side… a track on the economic and state performance issue” as well as security.
Trump’s Claim Contradicted
Trump had said Monday that the next US-Iran meeting would take place in Qatar on Tuesday. “Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha!” Trump posted on Truth Social. However, a senior Trump administration official later said Tuesday that Witkoff and Kushner would meet with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani and other mediators “to continue regional dialogue on the MOU” — without mentioning any US-Iran meetings. The official added that on Wednesday, US and Iranian delegations are expected to participate separately in technical talks with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan.
Background of the Interim Accord
The developments follow exchanges of fire over the weekend that tested the June 17 interim accord between the US and Iran. The 14-point pact allowed 60 days for the two sides to negotiate a permanent truce in the conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 and to resolve issues including Iran’s nuclear program. Both sides had said they would send officials to Qatar for meetings on the MOU aimed at ending the war.
Iran’s Stance
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said dialogue with mediator Qatar on implementing the interim deal, including releasing frozen Iranian assets, was likely in Doha on Wednesday. But he stressed that “no meeting at any level with the American side has been scheduled for the coming days.” “We have not yet entered the stage of negotiating a final agreement,” he said. “What will take place in Doha tomorrow is a discussion with the Qatari side about implementing parts of the memorandum of understanding, including the release of Iran’s blocked assets.” Baghaei also warned that Iran would respond to any US violation of the MOU. “We will not leave any action unanswered. As Iran’s powerful armed forces have demonstrated, any act of aggression against the objectives of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be met with an immediate and decisive response,” he said. “Such actions would constitute a violation of Article 1 of the memorandum of understanding. Naturally, if such violations are repeated and continue, the continuation of this process will encounter difficulties.”
Other Developments
In Iran, two members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed in what the elite force described as a “terrorist” shooting in a western province. Separately, Politico reported that Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a tense briefing with lawmakers, who pressed them on sanctions relief and the fate of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. The report said Witkoff and Rubio clarified that the goal is for the final deal to bar Tehran from keeping the uranium. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that they “confirmed to me that Iran will reap billions in oil revenue while retaining dangerous leverage over the Strait of Hormuz,” calling the briefing “delayed, deficient, and devoid of details.”
