US-Iran war news LIVE: US-Iran make ‘positive progress’ in first indirect talks, Qatar says | Today’s news
US-Iran war news LIVE: Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday (local time) that two mediators, Islamabad and Doha, held separate talks with US and Iranian negotiators in the capital and reported “positive progress” on issues related to the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU). In a post on social media, Majed Al Ansari, adviser to the Qatari prime minister and official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted that the talks were built on the results of the Lake Lucerne summit and would continue after the funeral rites for Tehran’s former supreme leader.
US President welcomes Qatar meeting on Iran
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) welcomed the meeting in Qatar, saying negotiators had made significant progress in indirect talks with Iran as the two countries seek to overcome last week’s breast strikes and turn their temporary truce into a lasting peace. He said: “They had very good meetings and we’ll see. We beat them very hard for three nights, as you know, but we get along very well, so I call it denuclearization and it’s all happening.” Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff visited Doha on Tuesday for technical discussions on a 14-point memorandum of understanding that set a 60-day period for negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
Ghalibaf denies negotiations on the access of IAEA inspectors to the bombed sites
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran would not allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors access to bombed nuclear sites, adding that the restriction was mandated by a law passed by parliament and the Supreme National Security Council. During a televised interview, he said: “Discussions about IAEA inspectors’ access to bombed sites are false,” adding: “We do not grant any authorizations beyond the levels of access set by the Supreme National Security Council. By law, the Supreme National Security Council is responsible for setting the level of access, which also specified its framework.”
Oil extends decline for third day as Hormuz flows by the barrel
Oil prices fell for a third day as flows through the Strait of Hormuz increased and there were signs of progress in indirect talks between Washington and Tehran. West Texas Intermediate traded near $68 a barrel after falling three percent in the previous two sessions, while Brent settled below $72 on Wednesday. Oil inventories through the key waterway have reached more than 10 million barrels a day, underscoring Tehran’s now limited ability to stop shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a US official said, while Trump welcomed progress in the talks.
