Trump Announces Talks with Iran in Doha; Tehran says no technical meetings are planned | Today’s news
The United States said senior officials would meet their Iranian counterparts in Doha on Tuesday (June 30th) in a fresh bid to preserve a fragile interim deal that ended months of fighting, but Iran denied that technical talks were scheduled for this week.
President Donald Trump announced the planned meeting in a social media post on Monday.
“Iran has requested a meeting. It will be held tomorrow in Doha,” Trump wrote in an all-caps social media post on Monday.
Witkoff, Kushner lead the US delegation
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt confirmed that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Doha for the talks.
“Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be flying to Doha this week for high-level talks as we continue to discuss the memorandum of understanding. There will be technical talks on the sidelines of those high-level talks,” Leavitt told Fox News.
She warned that Washington would continue to respond to the attacks even as it continued diplomacy.
“As far as we’re concerned, we’re delaying the end of the truce. Violence meets violence.”
Leavitt added: “There have been attacks on commercial vessels that have been responded to by the United States at the direction of the president … but we hope we won’t see that happen. The president clearly wants to see the peace process unfold.”
Iran denies the technical negotiations
However, Tehran rejected reports that the negotiating teams would meet this week.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said: “There are no technical working group meetings planned for this week.”
He added that while consultations with Qatar on the implementation of commitments under the agreement were ongoing, media reports of technical talks in Doha were “not confirmed”.
Fragile truce under pressure
The proposed meeting comes after several days of renewed military exchanges in the Strait of Hormuz, with both Washington and Tehran accusing each other of violating the June 17 memorandum of understanding.
The 14-point interim agreement ended four months of conflict with both sides pledging to halt hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate a broader settlement within 60 days.
Recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf and retaliatory strikes by the US have raised concerns that the deal could fall apart before a permanent agreement is reached.
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The mediating role of Qatar
Qatar, along with Pakistan, continued to mediate between Washington and Tehran.
Doha is also at the center of negotiations over frozen Iranian funds held under US sanctions.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that progress had been made toward releasing some of those assets.
“In line with established plans, $6 billion of the total $12 billion held in Qatar will be released and returned to the country.”
But U.S. officials say no frozen Iranian assets have yet been released, while Qatar has not publicly confirmed any transfer.
Oil and nuclear issues remain central
The interim agreement also requires Iran to dilute its stockpile of enriched uranium while providing sanctions relief in exchange for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and continuing negotiations.
The reopening of the strategic waterway helped ease global energy concerns, with oil prices plummeting after the deal.
Read also | Iran Asserts Exclusive Control of Hormuz, Warns Challenges Will Bring More Violence
