Talks in Doha focused on the implementation of the interim deal between Tehran and Washington, Iran's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday, according to state media.
Heading a delegation with representatives from Iran's foreign ministry, central bank, and agriculture ministry, Kazem Gharibabadi held a meeting with Qatar's prime minister and participated in a trilateral meeting among Iran, Qatar, and Pakistan to review the implementation of the interim deal.
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met Qatar's prime minister on Tuesday to lay the groundwork for Wednesday’s technical sessions but are not attending the talks themselves, the source said.
On Tuesday, Qatari officials said the two would meet with senior Qatari officials, but not with their Iranian counterparts.
"No high-level meeting is planned at this stage between the United States and Iran. The six billion dollars of frozen Iranian funds have not yet been transferred to Tehran, and their transfer will be carried out by agreement between the two sides and in accordance with the progress of the negotiations between Washington and Tehran. The Strait of Hormuz, its opening and the resumption of navigation through it are issues of paramount importance." Qatar's Foreign Ministry stated.
The US and Iranian technical teams each held separate meetings with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan to discuss the future of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program.
A US official confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that “no frozen funds have been released and no frozen funds will be released unless Iran meets the requirements outlined in the MOU” and that when the funds are released, “the United States must approve how the funds are used.”
The official explained that “if Iranian assets are released, they will be used to purchase American agricultural products from American farmers to feed the Iranian people.”
Strait of Hormuz, Iran nuclear program, key issues in talks
Qatari Advisor to the prime minister and Official Spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Ministry Majed Mohammed al-Ansari emphasized that Qatar has worked to contain the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, noting that the vital waterway is one of several key topics of discussion, alongside the nuclear issue and other provisions in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The resumption of the negotiations comes after earlier technical talks in Switzerland between senior officials from both sides, which Qatari and Pakistani mediators described as a "positive and constructive atmosphere."
Since then, however, the US has struck Iran several times, and Iranian drones have attacked tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, with both sides claiming to be responding to ceasefire violations from the other.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.