US President Donald Trump said on June 29 that Iran had “requested a meeting” and that talks would take place the following day in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
His post on social media came hours after an Iranian official had denied that technical talks — the next step in the framework to reach an end to the war — were scheduled to be held this week, despite claims by US officials.
The United States and Iran traded tit-for-tat strikes over the weekend in a re-escalation of tensions.
“Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said earlier on June 29 that the technical working group was not scheduled to meet this week.
“Although consultations with Qatar, including regarding the follow-up on the implementation of the other party’s commitments, are ongoing as usual, the news from some media outlets that technical talks by working groups are being held in Doha cannot be confirmed,” Gharibabadi told Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
He added that the first round of technical talks would be held within the framework of the designated working groups once conditions are in place and after an agreement is reached on the date and location, and that consultations in this regard are continuing through intermediary countries.
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The remarks come after Iran, citing US attacks on the country and what it said were violations of the recently agreed memorandum of understanding (MoU), refused to meet with US negotiators as scheduled on June 28.
“One of the reasons is checking if we have access to the unfrozen funds. If there is no access, then this condition has not been fulfilled,” said Mehdi Fazaeli of the Iranian supreme leader’s office.
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian announced on June 29 that $6 billion of Iranian assets currently being held in Qatar will be returned to Tehran, but US officials say no frozen Iranian assets have been released to date.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will attend an expected meeting with Iran in Doha.
“Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be flying to Doha for high-level meetings this week, as we continue to discuss the memorandum of understanding. On the sidelines of those high-level talks, there will be the technical talks,” she said in an interview with Fox News on June 29.
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Tit-For-Tat Strikes
Iran fired on commercial vessels in the strait over the weekend, leading US forces to strike Iranian coastal radar and military sites in an effort to protect shipping.
On June 28, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi claimed Tehran had regained sole control over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz for the next 30 days, warning against any attempt to bypass Iranian-approved routes.
“Any interference or attempt to create parallel structures would further complicate the situation, generate additional tensions, and delay the reopening of this strategically vital waterway,” Araqchi said, reiterating the claim that responsibility for the strait lies solely with Iran.
Earlier that day, Iran launched missiles and drones targeting US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain shortly after Trump warned Washington could escalate its military campaign if Tehran failed to abide by the cease-fire.
“There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable,” Trump said in a social media post, adding that the United States could “militarily complete the job” it began on February 28.
The escalation followed US strikes on Iranian military sites hours earlier, which Washington said were carried out in response to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
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US Central Command said its forces targeted Iranian drone storage facilities, radar installations, and coastal surveillance infrastructure after a tanker was hit by an Iranian drone on June 27.
Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Masud Pezeshkian, in early June signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding that would give the sides 60 days to negotiate a final agreement seeking to end the war.
Qatar, along with Pakistan, has been acting as a mediator between Washington and Tehran in the current round of talks.
The interim agreement was intended to halt fighting that erupted after US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic while broader negotiations continued.
The next session, on June 30, was originally scheduled for Switzerland to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, but Axios reported that the latest escalation of attacks on both sides led to the sessions being shifted to Qatar and that they would now focus on the Strait of Hormuz.
During previous negotiating sessions, Washington and Tehran agreed to establish a “hotline” between the US military and Iran’s hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to coordinate vessel traffic and other matters. However, that line was reportedly not operational as of June 27.
With reporting by RFE/RL senior correspondent Alex Raufoglu, Axios, and dpa
Trump Says Talks On Track For Doha Despite Iran’s Denial
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