Web Desk: Iranian and US negotiators wrapped up two days of indirect talks in Qatar on Wednesday without announcing any major breakthrough, although both sides described the discussions as constructive and agreed to continue negotiations after Iran’s national mourning period.
Officials said the latest round focused on implementing provisions of a ceasefire memorandum reached in June rather than addressing Tehran’s nuclear program, despite public remarks from US President Donald Trump suggesting progress on that front.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said delegates concentrated on restoring maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and unfreezing Iranian financial assets, two key elements of the interim agreement reached two weeks ago.
The discussions took place through Qatari and Pakistani mediators, with Iranian and US officials meeting separately rather than face-to-face, according to Qatar’s Foreign Ministry.
The ministry said the next round of negotiations will be scheduled after the funeral ceremonies for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose burial is set for July 9.
In a statement posted on X, the ministry’s spokesperson said the Doha meetings achieved “positive progress” on issues related to the memorandum that ended the June conflict and built on understandings reached during an earlier summit in Switzerland.
Although Trump told reporters in Washington that negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program were advancing, people familiar with the talks said the subject was not discussed during the latest sessions.
“The denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well,” Trump said. “They’ve had very good meetings, and we’ll see.”
US Vice President JD Vance later indicated that nuclear negotiations remain a separate phase of the diplomatic process.
“Obviously, we’re worried about the nuclear issue. We’re going to start talking about that,” Vance told reporters.
Iran’s delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed that the talks had concluded but did not indicate whether the two sides had narrowed their remaining differences.
Senior US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who had been expected to participate in what the White House described as high-level regional diplomacy, did not attend the Doha meetings, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
The Strait of Hormuz continues to dominate negotiations because of its importance to global energy markets. Before the conflict, the strategic waterway carried about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Although commercial shipping has partially resumed under the interim agreement, uncertainty persists after Iran and the United States exchanged military strikes last weekend following an Iranian attack on a cargo vessel.
Two senior Iranian officials said Tehran remains determined to secure international recognition of its authority over the strait and plans to begin collecting transit tolls from mid-August, after a toll-free period established under the ceasefire arrangement expires.
Meanwhile, Iran’s state media reported Wednesday that a foreign container ship ran aground outside the designated shipping corridor established by Iranian authorities.
“Hormuz continues to reopen but it’s patchy, unpredictable, and not fully transparent,” said Vandana Hari, founder of energy market research firm Vanda Insights.
Trump sought to ease concerns about another major military confrontation, saying he believed negotiations had made meaningful progress and expressing optimism about the diplomatic process.
His comments helped push oil prices to their lowest level in four months, prompting several analysts to lower their crude price forecasts for the first time since fighting began.
At the same time, several European governments have offered assistance in clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz to improve maritime security. However, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Berlin was unlikely to participate, citing what he described as Iran’s reluctance to cooperate with international partners.
