Iran and the US concluded a round of indirect talks on Wednesday with no apparent breakthrough towards a lasting agreement, as discussions focused on issues both sides had previously indicated were largely resolved.
US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff visited Qatar on Tuesday for technical discussions on the interim agreement, which set a 60-day negotiating period for Washington and Tehran.
This round of talks came after several exchanges of fire and retaliatory strikes between the US and Iran due to disputes over shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Qatari and Pakistani mediators said they held separate meetings with US and Iranian negotiators in Doha on Wednesday, making “positive progress” on issues related to the Islamabad agreement.
The discussions built on the outcomes of a summit in Switzerland last month, the Qatari and Pakistani foreign ministries said in separate statements.
The parties agreed to continue with talks in the coming period, with the next round to be scheduled at the earliest opportunity after the funeral processions of the former Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Sources said negotiators for the two countries spent two days in Doha discussing maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and financial incentives for Iran, two pillars of the initial agreement they signed in June, rather than more difficult topics the framework was supposed to tee up.
During the talks in Doha, the US and Iran reportedly reached an understanding about releasing the first tranche of frozen Iranian funds held in Qatar.
Axios quoted a regional source as saying $3 billion would not be transferred to Iran in cash, but the Central Bank of Iran would be able to use it for buying humanitarian goods, at least some of which are to come from the US market. However, US officials denied such an understanding had been reached and said no funds had been released.
In Washington, Mr Trump said the two sides were making progress on possible limits to Iran's nuclear programme – the main reason he launched the war in February. “The denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well,” he said. “They've had very good meetings and we'll see.”
But the sources said the nuclear programme did not feature in the talks, which were technical in nature.
US Vice President JD Vance said that would be addressed later. “Obviously, we're worried about the nuclear issue, we're going to start talking about that,” he added.
The two sides did not meet face to face; instead, they interacted separately with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan.
The truce was on shaky ground last week, when the US and Iran traded retaliatory strikes following after an Iranian drone attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
The attack was seen as a clear sign of Tehran seeking to maintain a degree of control over the critical waterway, against the wishes of the Trump administration. That debate is one of the main sticking points in the talks, along with the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.
US Central Command led a regional security dialogue with senior military officials from across the region in Bahrain.
Centcom chief Admiral Brad Cooper and military leaders from the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen discussed regional security, and underscored their “shared commitment to the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz”, a US military statement said.
“We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our regional partners,” Adm Cooper said. “The discussions underscored our shared commitment to regional security and stability.”
It was the first time military leaders from Syria and Lebanon participated in the US-led regional defence conference.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi criticised the meeting, claiming the Strait of “Hormuz is defined under Iran's command, not Centcom”.
Iran's Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters warned on Thursday any US interference in the Strait of Hormuz would be met with a “swift and decisive” military response, saying the strategic waterway falls under the Islamic Republic's “undisputed sovereignty”.
In a statement carried by Iran's Fars news agency, the headquarters said all commercial vessels and oil tankers are required to use navigation routes designated by Iran when transiting the strait.
It warned any vessel departing from those routes or disregarding Iran's navigation protocols would face “an immediate and authoritative response” from the Iranian armed forces.
The military also said any attempt by the US to interfere in security arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz would be regarded as a threat to Iran's national sovereignty and prompt a “swift and decisive response”.
Separately, the headquarters warned the continued presence of US fighter aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz endangers regional security and vowed Iran “will not hesitate” to take action against any US aggression or interference in the waterway.
