US-Iran talks gain momentum

Qatar and Pakistan have confirmed that "positive progress" was made in the indirect, low-level technical talks between the United States and Iran in Doha on Wednesday as part of an interim deal in June to work toward a final agreement to end their four-month war.

Majed Mohammed Al-Ansari, spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, confirmed the development in a post on X, which became a brief joint statement that was also carried by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.

"Qatar and Pakistan mediators concluded separate meetings with the US and Iranian negotiators in Doha today, with positive progress made on issues related to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, building on the outcomes of the Lake Lucerne Summit (in Switzerland)," Al-Ansari said.

"The parties agreed to continue discussions over the coming period, with the next meeting to be scheduled at the earliest possible time following the funeral processions of the former Iranian supreme leader (Ali Khamenei)," he added.

US President Donald Trump was upbeat about the latest talks. He told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland that "as far as things are going, the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well".

"They've had very good meetings. We'll see. We hit them very hard for three nights, as you know. But we're getting along very well," he said.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said the Iranian delegation held talks on Wednesday morning with Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, followed by two meetings involving Iran, Qatar and Pakistan.

The Iranian team raised and reviewed US violations of the first point of the Islamabad MoU, which requires a halt to the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, Gharibabadi said. It also flagged published reports of US actions to reinforce equipment and troops in the region, and the threatening and interventionist statements by US officials.

"The Iranian delegation stressed that the commitments of the memorandum of understanding are an integrated whole and are not viewed in separation from one another," he said.

It was also decided that an urgent communication channel for the monitoring group would be established by Thursday and that deficiencies in the MoU's implementation would be formally documented, reported, discussed and decided upon.

On the sidelines of the indirect talks, Iranian officials met with their Qatari counterparts to discuss spending of part of the initial $6 billion in released funds. It was agreed that goods required by Iran would be purchased and delivered according to the country's stated needs.

Last week, Trump said any unfreezing of Iranian funds would be used to purchase US corn, soybeans and wheat, describing it as opening a "new market" for US farmers.

However, Iran rejected that and said it would decide how to use released assets in the country's interest.

Meanwhile, Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, dismissed reports that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have been given access to the nuclear sites damaged by US-Israeli strikes.

Iranian law permits inspections at only two facilities: the Bushehr power plant and the Tehran reactor, he said.

"We ourselves passed a law in parliament; the Supreme National Security Council also has a resolution. Under this law, absolutely no access is given to sites that have been bombed and damaged. This is the law," Ghalibaf said on Wednesday.

The level of access is determined by the Supreme National Security Council, which has set the framework, he said, adding that Iran will offer no concessions beyond what that body has authorized.

The remarks came after IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said earlier in the day that his agency would carry out inspections in Iran in view of the recent US-Iran memorandum of understanding aimed at bringing peace, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com