US and Iranian officials hold indirect talks in Doha as $6 billion in frozen assets discussed

Some sources report that the talks are indirect and involve mediators, while others note that the US and Iran have conflicting statements on the nature of the talks.

There are discrepancies in the timing of the talks, with some sources reporting the talks began on June 30, while others report them starting on July 1.

Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari added that the parties would try to schedule the next meeting as soon as possible following the funeral procession for the former Iranian supreme leader

Iran's Deputy FM Gharibabadi also says part of $6bn in frozen assets would be used to buy goods that Tehran needs.

Indirect talks in Doha, Qatar, between officials from the United States and Iran aimed at ending the Middle East war have started, a diplomat with knowledge of the talks said on Wednesday. The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, confirmed negotiations were under way after they earlier said the US and Iran were to hold “indirect technical talks on Wednesday in Doha with Qatari and Pakistani mediators”. The Doha talks are based “on the memorandum of...

According to Al Arabiya, the US delegation has already begun consulting with Qatari representatives

Representatives from both countries will hold indirect meetings in Doha to discuss the next steps of the deal that would end the war between them. Follow DW for all the updates.

US and Iranian officials will hold indirect lower-level technical talks with mediators on a deal aimed at permanently ending the Middle East war, a diplomat has said.

Iran has said it will meet with Qatari mediators today to discuss negotiations with the United States.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani reaffirmed his country's role as a mediator in US – Iran negotiations during talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner on Tuesday, as Doha said it remained committed to supporting efforts to implement the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the Middle East war. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

US envoys met Qatari mediators in Doha on Tuesday for discussions on negotiations with Iran, even as both Tehran and Doha dismissed President Donald Trump's suggestion that direct US – Iran talks were taking place. The meetings come as both sides seek to implement a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the Middle East war.

The US and Iran have agreed to refrain from hostilities after a recent flareup, but Washington and Tehran have given conflicting statements on how talks are to proceed. DW has more.

US envoys were meeting with Qatari mediators on Tuesday in Doha to discuss negotiations with Iran, the Gulf state said, after Tehran and Washington agreed to a memorandum of understanding this month to halt the Middle East war. Iran said a team would head to Doha this week but contradicted US President Donald Trump’s claim that direct talks will take place. Qatar also said no high-level meetings or direct talks between the longtime foes were planned in Doha. Here is what we know about the discussions: Who and when Trump posted on Monday that Iran had requested fresh talks in Qatar the following day. “IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” he wrote. After his social media post, his spokeswoman told Fox News that US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner “will be flying to Doha for high-level meetings this week”. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari confirmed on Tuesday that Witkoff and Kushner were in Doha, but said “they are not here for their negotiations with the Iranians”. They were there to “meet with mediators, with Qatari officials, and the talks will be around all regional issues… including, of course, negotiations with Iran, but also including Lebanon”, he added. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, meanwhile, said on Monday that a delegation of experts would only travel to Doha “later this week” for discussions on the deal, not for direct US talks. “We have not yet entered the stage of negotiating a final agreement,” he said, noting that “over the coming days, we will not have any negotiation meetings with the US side at any level”. Issues on the table A key issue in the accord that needs to be ironed out is Iran’s chokehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz, with the agreement providing for its reopening. Traffic in the strait dropped over the weekend after a vessel was struck while transiting the waterway on Saturday. A US official said talks were “slated to continue on all areas of the MoU”. Iran has also held recent talks with Oman on what it called the “future management” of vessels transiting the Hormuz strait. Another key issue for Iran is the unlocking of its funds frozen by crippling US sanctions. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that the necessary steps to unfreeze these funds were “underway”, saying $6 billion was to be released back to the country out of $12 billion. Baqaei said Tuesday that talks would be held with the Qatari side “probably tomorrow” on the “provision concerning the release of Iran’s restricted assets”. Fighting calms Since the signing of the US-Iran deal, both sides have traded sporadic fire in the Gulf. Tehran’s enforcement of its claim to the Strait of Hormuz has sparked repeated flare-ups. The latest came early Sunday when US Central Command said it had attacked 10 Iranian military targets over “continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping”. Iran said it retaliated with strikes against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, both of whom condemned Tehran. Yet those exchanges appear to have calmed in the days leading up to the talks in Qatar. On the Lebanon front, fighting in the war between Israel and Hezbollah has also been relatively quiet in recent days. Tehran has insisted any deal should include an end to the parallel conflict and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, part of which they have occupied. A lull in fighting in the country began in the days after the announcement of the Iran-US deal.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman says no high-level meetings or direct talks between the US and Iran are scheduled.

Iran says it has sent an expert delegation to Doha to follow up on the release of frozen Iranian funds.

Trump says Iran wants to meet in Qatar after attacks, but Tehran says it is sending a delegation only over frozen funds.