Pakistan and Qatar said Wednesday that mediators reported positive progress in separate US-Iran talks held in Doha, agreeing to resume dialogue soon to implement the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.
The next round will follow funeral ceremonies for Iran's former supreme leader.
What progress did Pakistan and Qatar report in the US-Iran talks?
Qatari and Pakistani mediators held separate meetings with US and Iranian negotiators in Doha to advance the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, Pakistan's Foreign Office said.
The talks built on understandings reached at the Lake Lucerne Summit. Both sides agreed to continue dialogue in the coming period, with the next round to be scheduled once funeral processions for Iran's former supreme leader conclude.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Dr Majed Al Ansari, said on X that the mediators had concluded separate meetings with US and Iranian negotiators, confirming positive progress on issues tied to the memorandum.
What did Trump say about the Doha talks?
President Donald Trump said indirect talks with Iran in Qatar were moving forward before boarding Air Force One. He told reporters that Iran's denuclearization was progressing well despite earlier US strikes.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who led Tehran's delegation, said the talks had concluded. Both sides agreed to set up a communication channel by Thursday to record any violations of the memorandum.
Will the United States and Iran hold direct negotiations?
Iran has repeatedly said it will not hold direct negotiations with the United States in Doha over the agreement. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei rejected Trump's earlier claim that the talks were direct, saying Tehran had no plans for negotiations with Washington at any level in the near term.
An anonymous diplomat told AFP that the technical discussions in Doha aimed to build on the Lake Lucerne Summit and focus on implementing the memorandum's provisions.
What is the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding?
The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding was mediated by Pakistan and Qatar and agreed at a summit in Lucerne, Switzerland, last month. It includes a sixty-day ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a timetable for a final agreement on the war and Iran's nuclear program.
Since the memorandum was signed, the United States and Iran have exchanged military strikes in the Gulf, testing the ceasefire. Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tuesday that implementation challenges were inevitable after a conflict of this scale.
What happens next after the Doha talks?
Gharibabadi said discussions also covered frozen Iranian assets, with officials reviewing use of part of an initial six billion dollars and agreeing that goods needed by Iran would be purchased and made available. US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff did not take part in the technical talks, after meeting Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, on Tuesday.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry said that meeting covered the US-Iran negotiations and developments in Lebanon. Qatar's emir also met Kushner and Witkoff on Wednesday, according to the emir's office. Iran's delegation in Doha is expected to focus next on implementing provisions related to the Strait of Hormuz and the fighting in Lebanon.
—With additional input from AFP.
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