Trump upbeat as US, Iran hold indirect talks in Qatar

DOHA: US President Donald Trump hailed the progress on Wednesday of indirect talks between the US and Iran in Qatar, as the sides aimed to push forward negotiations and quell tensions following exchanges of fire.

The US leader said there had been “very good meetings” in Doha after an early dispute over the format threatened to overshadow discussions.

Iran insisted there would be no direct negotiations between the sides in the Qatari capital on the two parties’ memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the Middle East war, which broke out with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

“As far as things are going, the denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to board his Qatar-gifted Air Force One plane, which the wealthy Gulf emirate donated last year.

“We hit them very hard… but we’re getting along very well,” he added.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU), brokered by Qatar and Pakistan, culminated in a summit last month in Lucerne, Switzerland.

It includes a 60-day ceasefire pausing the war, the reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and a timeframe for a final deal to permanently end the conflict and reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Earlier a diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, confirmed negotiations were under way in Doha with Qatari and Pakistani mediators.

‘Different public messages’

The discussions, being held at a lower level and focused on the details of the MOU, were to “build on the progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit”, the diplomat told AFP.

Tehran denied an earlier claim by Trump that there would be direct talks in Doha.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the Iranian delegation would be led by deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi, but added the officials “have no plans for negotiations with the American side at any level over the coming days”.

US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were not taking part in the technical talks, the anonymous diplomat told AFP, after they met with Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said the trio discussed “the ongoing talks” between the US and Iran “within the framework of the memorandum of understanding”, as well as developments in Lebanon.

On Wednesday, the office of Qatar’s emir also said the two US envoys had met with Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Anna Jacobs, non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told AFP it was “very early in the negotiation process and battles are being fought privately and publicly”.

“The overall positive message is that they are continuing to engage after the clashes last week,” she said.

HA Hellyer, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said there was a “lack of transparency” surrounding the talks with both sides “sending very different public messages”.

‘Implementation challenges’

Since the signing of the US-Iran deal last month, both sides have exchanged fire in the Gulf, with Tehran targeting a commercial ship it said had deviated from its approved route through the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command responded by saying it had attacked 10 Iranian military targets.

Iran then hit back with strikes against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, which both condemned Tehran for the attacks.

Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tuesday that “when a war of this magnitude comes to an end… it is inevitable that there will be implementation challenges, incidents and differences of opinion, especially where parties such as the Israeli regime are concerned”.

He said the Iranian delegation in Doha would be focused on the implementation of clauses in the deal related to the strait and fighting in Lebanon.

“Naturally, the Islamic republic is committed to ensuring that the agreement is implemented, and the enemy, the US and its ally, must also fulfil their commitments,” he said.

The exchanges of fire appear to have calmed in the days leading up to the talks in Qatar.

On the Lebanon front, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has been relatively quiet.

Iran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March with rocket fire at Israel, triggering Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion.

Tehran has insisted any deal should include an end to the parallel conflict in Lebanon and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from its south, part of which they have occupied.