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Working groups for final Iran-US deal formed after Qatar talks: Deputy FM
Gharibabadi made the remarks after meeting Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha and later holding trilateral talks with senior officials from Qatar and Pakistan, according to IRNA.
Heading a delegation that included officials from Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Central Bank and Agriculture Ministry, Gharibabadi said the discussions were focused on following through on implementation of the memorandum.
Addressing prospects for a permanent settlement, Gharibabadi said: “Working groups for implementation of the memorandum and negotiations on a final agreement have been formed, but no negotiations within these frameworks have yet begun.”
He added that consultations through the mediators to determine the time and venue for those negotiations were continuing and that talks within the working groups would begin once the necessary conditions had been established.
According to Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Gharibabadi and Sheikh Mohammed discussed implementation of the peace deal, obstacles to its execution and ways to accelerate the process. Developments in Lebanon and expanding bilateral cooperation were also on the agenda.
The trilateral meeting between Iran, Qatar and Pakistan also reviewed progress in implementing the memorandum.
Separately, AFP reported that Iran and the United States held indirect technical talks in Doha on Wednesday through Qatari and Pakistani mediators.
A diplomat familiar with the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, told AFP that the lower-level negotiations focused on the details of the memorandum of understanding and would “build on the progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit”.
The memorandum, brokered by Qatar and Pakistan and signed on June 17, established a 60-day ceasefire after the war triggered by US-Israeli strikes in late February, reopened the Strait of Hormuz after the blockade and set a timetable for negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent peace agreement and resolving disputes over Iran’s nuclear program.
US President Donald Trump hailed the latest diplomatic efforts on Wednesday.
“They’ve had very good meetings, and we’ll see,” he told reporters.
“We hit them very hard... but we’re getting along very well,” he said, referring to negotiations intended to dial down tensions after recent military confrontations.
Tehran, however, rejected Trump’s earlier claim that direct negotiations would take place in Doha.
The AFP report said US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were not participating in the technical talks after meeting Sheikh Mohammed on Tuesday.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the meeting reviewed “the ongoing talks between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran within the framework of the memorandum of understanding”, as well as developments in Lebanon.
The diplomatic efforts come after both sides traded fire in the Persian Gulf following the June 17 agreement. Tehran targeted a commercial vessel that it said had deviated from its approved route through the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command said it struck 10 Iranian military targets over the weekend, after which Iran launched retaliatory strikes against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.