Qatar reports 'positive progress' on 14-point Islamabad MoU after US-Iran talks

Doha: Qatar and Pakistan have concluded separate meetings with US and Iranian negotiators in Doha, with both sides reporting "positive progress" on issues linked to the 14-point Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), according to Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Majed Al Ansari, adviser to Qatar's Prime Minister and official spokesperson for the foreign ministry, said the discussions built on the outcomes of the Lake Lucerne Summit and that negotiations would resume after the funeral ceremonies for Iran's former Supreme Leader.

"Qatar & Pakistan mediators concluded separate meetings with the US & Iranian negotiators in Doha today, with positive progress made on issues related to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, building on the outcomes of the Lake Lucerne Summit. The parties agreed to continue discussions over the coming period, with the next meeting to be scheduled at the earliest possible time following the funeral processions of the former Iranian Supreme Leader," Al Ansari said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Iran said it raised concerns over what it described as Washington's failure to honour previous commitments.

According to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran had flagged the issue during the Doha discussions.

"We raised the issue of the US's failure to fulfil commitments in Lebanon at the Doha meeting," Gharibabadi said.

He added that Iranian and Qatari officials also reviewed arrangements concerning part of the initial USD 6 billion in Iranian funds that had been frozen.

"In the meetings with Qatari officials, the issues related to the expenditure of part of the initial USD 6 billion were reviewed, and it was agreed that, based on the announced needs, the purchase of required goods will be carried out and placed at Iran's disposal," Gharibabadi said.

Iran is scheduled to hold funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from July 4 to July 9 across locations in Iran and Iraq. Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on the opening day of the US-Israel war with Iran on February 28.

The latest diplomatic engagement comes after US President Donald Trump expressed confidence that efforts to secure Iran's "denuclearisation" were progressing despite the absence of direct high-level negotiations between senior US and Iranian officials.

Speaking to reporters before departing for North Dakota to visit the newly built Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Trump said recent military action against Iran had shifted Tehran's position.

"They've come a long way. We hit them very hard last week. They're fine. We're going to get it. It's the denuclearisation of Iran," Trump said.

Reaffirming Washington's long-standing position, he added that Iran would not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.

"Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Otherwise, all of this stuff that we look at, all of these things that we do, the country has never had activity like it's got right now," he said.

(ANI)