Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Wednesday that no meetings with US officials are planned in Doha at any level in the coming days. He stated the Iranian delegation will hold talks with Qatari officials only on Thursday, focused on monitoring implementation of the memorandum of understanding, particularly the release of frozen Iranian assets.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Wednesday that no meetings with U.S. officials are planned in Doha at any level in the coming days, directly rebutting speculation of a breakthrough. He stated the Iranian delegation will hold talks with Qatari officials only on Thursday, focused on monitoring implementation of the memorandum of understanding — particularly the release of frozen Iranian assets.
This denial follows a day of mixed signals. At 11:49 Wednesday, Reuters quoted a senior Iranian official saying indirect talks with the United States in Doha are continuing and focus on frozen assets and the Strait of Hormuz — a statement that aired at the same time as an earlier Foreign Ministry denial of any scheduled direct meetings. The thread thus shows conflicting messages from Tehran: an on-record denial by the ministry versus an anonymous official’s confirmation of ongoing indirect talks. Earlier Tuesday (14:19 Jerusalem), Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated no contacts with the U.S. were planned this week, and that the Iranian and American delegations are unrelated. On Sunday (04:45 Jerusalem), Baqaei himself denied imminent talks in Pakistan or Geneva.
As The Zioneer reported in recent days, the fundamental issue remains timing: senior Iranian officials have said the 60-day negotiation window with the U.S. will not begin until frozen assets are released. Baqaei has stated the memorandum of understanding focuses on ending the war, not the nuclear file.
It remains unclear whether the indirect technical talks reported by Reuters are ongoing despite the ministry’s denial, or whether the denial constitutes a deliberate attempt to manage expectations. The gap between the ministry’s categoric statement and the anonymous official’s confirmation is the story’s central open question.
3 developments
- ConfirmedIran deputy FM: no US talks this week, denies coordination with American visit to Qatar
- StrongIran rejects Qatari proposal for trilateral meeting with US
- StrongIran will take part in Doha talks this week, source tells NBC
- StrongIranian spokesman: no trip to Pakistan or Geneva in coming days, deal not imminent
Source and signal
- Internal intake