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• Witkoff, Kushner to meet Qatari officials, mediators
• Qatar says US envoys not in town for talks with Iranians
• Technical talks to cover nuclear, economic, security tracks
• Doha meeting ‘perhaps important, perhaps not’, says Trump
• NYT reports Iran, Oman moving ahead with Hormuz payment plans
DOHA: Iran ruled out any meeting with the United States in Doha even as top US envoys arrived in Qatar for talks with mediators, casting uncertainty over diplomatic efforts to turn a fragile US-Iran memorandum of understanding into a lasting settlement.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Doha on Tuesday after Washington said it was sending a negotiating team, but Qatar clarified that no high-level meetings or direct talks between the United States and Iran were planned.
“Mr Steve Witkoff and Mr Jared Kushner are here in Doha to meet with mediators, with Qatari officials, and the talks will be around all regional issues,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said.
Talks with the envoys would include discussions on Iran but also other topics, including Lebanon, the spokesman said.
“They are not here for their negotiations with the Iranians,” he added.
“To the best of my knowledge, there are no direct meetings scheduled between the two parties in the coming days,” Mr Ansari told reporters in Doha. “To my knowledge there is no high-level meeting between the two sides.”
Both the US and Iran had said they would send officials for meetings in Qatar to discuss a memorandum of understanding agreed between the two sides aimed at ending the Middle East war, which broke out on Feb 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Mr Ansari said an Iranian “technical delegation travels to and from Doha based on the progress of negotiations”, adding that there was currently no high-level delegation present.
The so-called technical talks, negotiations between lower-ranking officials on details, included “tracks on the nuclear side... a track on the economic and state performance issue” as well as security, the spokesman said.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also denied that any meeting with the United States was planned in Doha.
“No meeting at any level with the American side has been scheduled for the coming days,” he said.
“What is expected to take place in Doha, probably tomorrow, will be discussions regarding the implementation of provisions of the memorandum of understanding, including the provision concerning the release of Iran’s restricted assets, and these discussions will be held with the Qatari side,” Mr Baghaei told reporters at a weekly press conference.
He was referring to Iranian funds blocked abroad due to US sanctions, a key issue under discussion as part of the agreement between Tehran and Washington.
Iran is making any agreement with the United States conditional on the release of a portion of these assets in order to bring a lasting end to the conflict.
Among elements agreed under the memorandum of understanding already signed is a US commitment to eventually “terminate all types of sanctions against” Tehran and to “make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets” of Iran.
A Qatari foreign ministry spokesman said the issue of frozen Iranian funds was directly linked to the progress of negotiations between Tehran and Washington, according to Al Jazeera.
Iran warns US over MoU
Mr Baghaei also said Iran would respond to any US violation of the memorandum of understanding.
“We will not leave any action unanswered. As Iran’s powerful armed forces have demonstrated, any act of aggression against the objectives of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be met with an immediate and decisive response,” he said.
“Such actions would constitute a violation of Article 1 of the memorandum of understanding. Naturally, if such violations are repeated and continue, the continuation of this process will encounter difficulties,” he added.
The arrival of Mr Kushner and Mr Witkoff in Doha followed exchanges of fire over the weekend that tested the June 17 interim accord between the United States and Iran.
The 14-point pact allowed 60 days for the two sides to negotiate a permanent truce in the conflict and resolve thorny issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Since last Thursday, the US has accused Iran of hitting at least two commercial ships with missiles or drones, and it bombed Iranian military facilities in response.
Iran in turn launched missiles and drones at US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain on Sunday, with both sides accusing each other of breaking the ceasefire.
“The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not,” US President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We’re going to find out.”
Hormuz payment row
Tehran and Muscat are also moving ahead with plans to collect payments from ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, despite public American objections, The New York Times reported, citing an Iranian official and four diplomats with knowledge of the matter.
If enacted, the plans would mark a significant change from the prewar status in the strategic waterway.
Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz was an international shipping route between Iran and Oman that vessels sailed through freely, carrying oil and gas from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. During the fighting, Iran effectively blockaded the waterway, an important chokepoint for global trade, sending energy prices skyrocketing.
Since then, Iranian officials have repeatedly declared their intention to monetise the strait.
Mr Baghaei said on Tuesday that Tehran would “do whatever is necessary to safeguard its interests” over the strait.
He also said there was no need for other countries to perform mine clearance in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Mine clearance in the Strait of Hormuz, in accordance with the memorandum of understanding, is a matter that concerns Iran, and there is no need for any other party to intervene in this issue,” he said.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said a hotline dedicated to de-escalation was used to contain last week’s exchanges of fire between the US and Iran.
He added that Qatar was coordinating with Oman regarding the safe passage of ships through the vital waterway and considered freedom of navigation through the strait paramount.
Nuclear access dispute
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman also said the International Atomic Energy Agency was still not being granted access to inspect the country’s nuclear sites, according to state news agency IRNA.
Mr Baghaei criticised the nuclear watchdog for its “shortcomings” and urged Director General Rafael Grossi to “focus on his professional responsibilities” instead of what he described as “campaign-style publicity”.
China urges dialogue
Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday called for maintaining the momentum of negotiations between the US and Iran during a meeting in Beijing with his Saudi counterpart, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
“The current ceasefire remains fragile, but talking is better than fighting, and dialogue is better than confrontation,” Mr Wang said.
He added that Beijing was willing to work with Saudi Arabia to ease tensions in the region and promote lasting peace.
Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2026
