Iran and the United States have begun indirect talks in Doha, with the Qataris and Pakistanis mediating, a source with direct knowledge of the discussions told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trumps’s son-in-law, met with Qatar’s prime minister on Tuesday but are not attending Wednesday’s technical talks, according to the source.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the talks began Tuesday night and were focused on the release of Tehran’s frozen assets and the Strait of Hormuz.
The officials will discuss “the memorandum of understanding building on the progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit,” a diplomat told the AFP news agency, referring to the first round of direct talks between the two countries last Sunday in Switzerland.
Both countries had said they would send officials to Qatar for the meetings, though Tehran denied a claim by Mr. Trump that direct talks would take place.
According to Qatari state media Al Jazeera, Tehran is demanding the release of the funds in two phases over a 60-day period, beginning with the unfreezing of $6 billion currently held in Qatari banks.
The report said a key point of disagreement remains Washington’s reported proposal to establish an exclusive credit line allowing the funds to be used only to purchase U.S. agricultural products, including wheat, soybeans, and corn. Iran has reportedly rejected the proposal, insisting that its central bank retain full authority to determine how the released funds are spent, including on essential goods and medicines, without external restrictions.
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