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Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were in Qatar to discuss the state of negotiations with mediators
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Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington have ended in a stalemate in Doha despite President Donald Trump insisting the US is getting along “very well” with Iran.
The discussions, which were handled by mediators, concluded on Wednesday evening, as sources said teams largely focused on issues that had supposedly already been settled.
Iran has said said it would not initiate remaining clauses of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) until the initial five clauses were fully stabilised and finalised.
But President Trump told reporters that the “denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well” and that “very good meetings” were held in Qatar as he and his vice president played down any suggestion of a return to all-out combat.
Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Qatar on Tuesday to meet mediators, but no direct talks have taken place.
Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the US president would prefer to continue with diplomatic efforts, believing that further conflict could undermine Washington’s efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program.
Donald Trump is weighing a return to open war with Tehran and met with defense secretary Pete Hegseth and his most senior general to discuss renewing strikes, according to a report.
Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the US president would prefer to continue with diplomatic efforts, believing that further conflict could undermine Washington’s efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump has told aides he is fine with negotiations for a nuclear deal dragging on past the 18 August deadline as it would give them more time to work with.
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Iran will deliver an immediate and powerful response to any threat against its people or leadership, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an X post on Wednesday.
“POTUS has committed the US to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them,” Araqchi said.
The US and Iran held technical talks in Doha on Wednesday as they seek to agree on the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and secure a lasting ceasefire, a source with direct knowledge of the talks and an Iranian official said.
Araqchi’s X post was attached to comments made by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stating that Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was “marked for death.”
US Vice President JD Vance has said Washington will not return to full combat with Iran unless there is a “clearly defined purpose” to it.
He added discussions between the US and Iran were going well.
The talks are based on a 14-point interim accord signed last month that was meant to halt the war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February and reopen the strait, while setting up 60 days of negotiations for a permanent peace deal.
However, the US and Iran have sparred publicly over the meaning of the interim pact, leading to tit-for-tat military strikes over the past week and leaving little sign of progress on more complex issues, including on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Vance said he could not guarantee that Washington would not return to full combat operations ahead of next month’s deadline but that for now President Donald Trump had directed officials to make a deal.
“I can’t commit to anything, because obviously it depends on what the Iranians are ultimately going to do,” he told reporters on a visit to Virginia Beach, Virginia. “What I can commit to is: The president’s not going to send our military back in unless he has to, unless there’s a clearly defined purpose for it.”
One US service member is missing and three others were wounded but in stable condition after their MH-60S Seahawk helicopter made an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday, the US military said, adding there was no indication the crash was caused by hostile action.
“US Navy assets in the region are currently searching for other aircrewman still missing. The cause of incident is under investigation,” the Navy’s 5th Fleet said in a statement, adding that the helicopter was deployed to the region on the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier.
Helicopter water landings can be dangerous, even for experienced pilots, given the propensity of top-heavy aircraft to flip upside-down during submersion.
Iran has strongly criticised its treatment at the World Cup, asserting that a “series of decisions, logistical arrangements, and circumstances” undermined the “sense of fairness” during the tournament.
This condemnation comes hours after a senior American official declared he had “danced a happy dance” upon the team’s elimination.
The team’s participation in the finals had been uncertain for months following air strikes on Iran by the US and Israel in February.
In May, Iran relocated its training camp from Tucson, Arizona, to the Mexican border city of Tijuana in an effort to alleviate visa complications. However, 11 of its federation officials were still denied entry to the US for their three group matches.
Following their exit, the Iranian team left a handwritten note addressed to the people of Mexico, expressing gratitude and raising profound questions about their experience.
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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said a ceasefire in the Middle East was a prerequisite for any discussion on reconstruction in the region.
“As soon as it comes to rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure in the region, then we can discuss everything, but first of all the fighting must stop,” he said.
Iran’s foreign minister has said the country’s talks with mediators in Doha have concluded.
Kazem Gharibabadi said it had reached several agreements with Qatari mediators, including to establish a channel to discuss breaches of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) and to use frozen Iranian funds for items the country needs.
Earlier on Wednesday, president Donald Trump insisted discussions with Iran were going “very well”.
A channel will be established to discuss breaches of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran, Tehran has said.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister also said it has been agreed that $6bn in frozen Iranian funds will be used to buy items according to the country’s needs.
It comes after meetings between the US and mediators in Doha, with Iran refusing to sit down for further peace talks until previous commitments under the MoU had been upheld.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States was getting along very well with Iran and that recent meetings in Qatar went well.
“The denuclearization of Iran is moving along well,” Trump told reporters. “They’ve had very good meetings, and we’ll see.”
The US and Iran held technical talks in the Qatari capital of Doha on Wednesday as they seek to agree on the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and secure a lasting ceasefire, a source with direct knowledge of the talks and an Iranian official said.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff met the prime minister of Qatar — a mediator in the talks alongside Pakistan — to lay groundwork for the negotiations, but would not be attending the discussions themselves, the source with direct knowledge of the talks said.
“We’re getting along very well,” Trump said, adding Iran has “come a long way.”
“I think they’re fine,” the president added.
Iran will deliver an immediate and powerful response to any threat against its people or leadership, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an X post.
“POTUS has committed the U.S. to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them,” Araqchi said.
Araqchi’s X post was attached to comments made by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stating that Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was “marked for death.”
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