Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has met United States envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Doha as attempts are made to restart direct talks between Tehran and Washington.
The US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 17, extending their ceasefire by 60 days, during which they agreed to continue more detailed negotiations on their differences – with the future of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s frozen assets, long-term sanctions relief and Tehran’s nuclear programme among the issues on the table.
But the two weeks since have seen new tensions rise between the US and Iran over the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, US bombing of Iran, Iranian attacks on US military assets in Kuwait and Bahrain, and continuing Israeli assaults in Lebanon.
And while Washington has said it will hold direct negotiations with Tehran in Doha, the latter has denied this.
Here is the latest on the negotiations:
What are US officials saying?
US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that the Trump administration was in a “great position” regardless of how the talks pan out.
The US “obviously” wants the talks to succeed, Vance said, but added that his country was “still in a much stronger position” than Iran even if they fail. He insisted that Tehran’s nuclear programme and military have been “destroyed”, and warned that Trump has made clear that any Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz would prompt a US military response.
Vance again said Iran would be “permanently transformed” if negotiations aimed at securing a lasting settlement are successful.
The US vice president also said technical talks with Iran are ongoing on specific points included in the MoU.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has reported that Trump, when presented recently with a full range of options to restart the war on Iran, told his advisers that he preferred to give diplomacy a chance, and was willing to extend the 60-day truce if needed for discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme.
What has Iran said?
Tehran has denied holding direct talks with the US in Doha, and many Iranian leaders are not present.
Instead, Iran said it will hold indirect talks on the US-Iran deal with mediator Qatar to discuss implementing the MoU with the US and releasing frozen Iranian assets. This week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran expected $6bn of the frozen Iranian funds to be released by the US as a first step.
On Wednesday, Iranian negotiators are expected to be in Doha for talks with Qatari officials on those funds and other elements of the MoU, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Vance has described Iran’s refusal to acknowledge direct technical talks as a “Persian negotiation tactic”.
“There were scheduled talks, really technical talks, building on the negotiation that we’ve already had. Those are definitely happening tomorrow,” Vance said during an interview on the podcast The Michael Knowles Show released on Tuesday.
He said he found Tehran’s public statements “fascinating and frustrating”, noting that Iranian officials deny peace talks while acknowledging technical discussions.
“They’ll say, ‘No, no, there aren’t peace talks ongoing, but there are technical talks between the United States and Iran about the peace deal,’” Vance said. “It’s a Persian negotiating tactic and a Persian rhetorical device that I don’t understand.”
Why is Iran reluctant to return to direct talks with the US?
Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said growing scepticism within Iran’s leadership about the MoU may explain Tehran’s reticence on engaging in direct, senior-level talks with Washington at the moment.
“In the last two weeks or so, we’ve seen more pushback inside the Iranian regime. People were saying, ‘This MoU sounds impressive on paper, but where is the action?’” he told Al Jazeera.
“Where’s the frozen assets that are supposed to be released? Where is Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz? Why is Israel still in Lebanon?”
Vatanka said time was running out on implementing the roadmap outlined in the document signed on June 17.
So “it’s not a surprise that senior officials like Araghchi or Ghalibaf are reluctant to show up in Doha and be standing in front of the cameras because, back home, that could just be a liability for them,” he said, referring to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Consultative Assembly Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
What is the significance of these negotiations?
Scott Uehlinger, a US national security expert, said Washington is using indirect technical talks with Iran in Doha to manage tensions over the Strait of Hormuz despite the absence of direct negotiations.
“I think that the main point of the American negotiators is to try to use the technical talks, which have already been scheduled, as a way of heading off some difficulties which are clearly lying in the future,” Uehlinger told Al Jazeera.
The former CIA officer said those difficulties centre on Iran’s “diplomatic gambit” to control the Strait of Hormuz. “The US is trying to … clarify what Iran’s actual role is in the strait, according to the MoU, and further details that perhaps would be included in a future agreement,” Uehlinger added.
