Qatar says US envoys in Doha, no direct talks with Iran planned

Doha, June 30 (IANS) Qatar confirmed on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are in Doha but will not hold direct meetings with the Iranian officials.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said at the weekly press briefing that the US delegation would instead meet with mediators to discuss progress in implementing the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran.

Al-Ansari also noted that the 6 billion US dollars in frozen Iranian assets have yet to be transferred to Tehran, Xinhua news agency reported.

The remarks came amid conflicting accounts from Washington and Tehran over the nature of the latest contacts in Doha, with the United States describing the discussions as part of the implementation process for the MoU, while Iran has denied that direct negotiations with US officials are scheduled.

A senior Iranian diplomat said on Monday that technical talks between the working groups of Iran and the United States were not scheduled for this week, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, made the remarks in an address to reporters, rejecting media reports that technical talks would be held in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday.

However, Gharibabadi, who heads Iran’s delegation in the technical negotiations, said consultations were continuing with Qatar on relevant issues, including pursuing the US fulfilment of obligations under the recently signed peace MoU, Xinhua news agency reported.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that frozen Iranian assets worth 6 billion US dollars currently held in Qatar will be released and returned to the country, according to the official news agency IRNA.

He made the remarks during a meeting with a senior cleric in the central province of Qom, while elaborating on the achievements of a recently signed peace Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States.

Pezeshkian put the total amount of the country’s frozen assets in Qatar at 12 billion US dollars, stressing that necessary follow-ups were being taken to return the remaining funds to the country.

Describing the MoU as “a great victory” for the Iranian people, he noted that sanctions on Iran’s petrochemical and oil exports have been lifted within the agreement’s framework.

–IANS

ksk/as