Iran says no talks with US planned in coming days
President Donald Trump said Iran talks would be held in Qatar today and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was on his way to the capital Doha, two U.S. officials said.
However, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghai said that although a delegation of Iranian experts will visit Doha later this week, no talks with the United States are planned at any level in the coming days.
Baghai said Iran and the United States have not yet entered the stage of negotiating a final agreement.
The inconsistent messages raise further questions about whether negotiators will be able to meet a 60-day deadline after the two countries exchanged attacks over the weekend, straining an already fragile ceasefire.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Iran: Mr. Baggaei said that under Article 13 of the US-Iran Memorandum, talks toward a final agreement can only begin after implementation of Articles 1, 4, 5, 10, and 11 begins. He said the United States has issued Article 10-related licenses covering oil sales and Iran is following up on its implementation. He also said that implementation of Article 11, which relates to frozen assets, is also underway. In this context, a delegation of experts is scheduled to visit Doha later this week, he said, adding that the US visit to Qatar is unrelated to the visit of the Iranian delegation. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would keep its promise if the United States did the same, and warned that Iran would respond firmly to threats. He also said half of Iran’s $12 billion in frozen assets held in Qatar would be returned to Tehran, although the United States has issued contradictory statements on the issue. United States: White House press secretary Caroline Levitt told Fox News that high-level talks will take place with technical discussions on the sidelines. “Envoy (Steve) Witkoff and (Trump’s son-in-law) Jared Kushner are scheduled to fly to Doha this week for high-level meetings,” he said. Israel: Defense Minister Israel Katz said President Trump insisted on linking the Lebanese-Iranian wars during ceasefire negotiations, despite the country’s desire to treat them as separate conflicts. He said Israel has the support of the United States to remain in Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout the country. Strait of Hormuz: Iran will carry out landmine clearance alone, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said, defying President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that France, Oman and other countries cooperate. According to MarineTraffic data, more than 20 merchant ships passed through the chokepoint over a 24-hour period, a fraction of pre-war levels. Lebanon: Parliament Speaker Navi Berri, considered a key ally of Hezbollah, denounced that the US-brokered agreement between Israel and the country “will not be implemented”. Clashes between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israeli forces in southern Lebanon continued over the weekend, days after the two countries signed a new ceasefire agreement.
CNN’s Elise Kim, Mohamed Tawfik, Eileen Greif, Dalia Abdelwahab and Casey Gannon contributed to this report.
