Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated Tuesday that no contacts or negotiations with the United States are planned for this week, and that the Iranian and American delegations in Doha are unrelated to each other. According to the statement, the Iranian professional delegation is in Qatar solely to monitor U.S. commitments through Qatari mediation, with no meeting scheduled between the two sides.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi denied on Tuesday any planned U.S.-Iran contacts this week, stating the Iranian and American delegations currently in Doha are unrelated. According to the statement, the Iranian delegation is in Qatar solely to monitor U.S. commitments under the existing memorandum of understanding via Qatari mediation, with no bilateral meeting scheduled.
This denial follows a week of public messaging from Tehran. Earlier Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry categorically rejected the possibility of talks with the U.S. in the coming days, a position echoed by spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei, who said the U.S. visit was unrelated to the Iranian team. The same day, another Iranian official told i24NEWS that denials persisted despite the administration having claimed talks were progressing. Gharibabadi's Tuesday statement marks the senior-most denial yet: the deputy foreign minister himself, the same official who last week announced the "successful conclusion" of technical talks between Iran, the US, Pakistan, and Qatar.
As The Zioneer previously reported, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Qatar, though a Qatari official stated no meeting with Iran is scheduled. Iran's negotiator Seyed Mohammad Marandi earlier denied a Trump claim by saying the U.S. had sought the Doha meeting, while Iran's Foreign Ministry said the Doha delegation was focusing on unfreezing assets rather than a final deal.
What remains open: Gharibabadi's denial does not address whether indirect talks via Qatar are occurring, and the Iranian delegation remains in Doha for follow-up work on the memorandum. The technical talks were described as successfully concluded, and preparations for a senior-level round were completed by last Tuesday — but no date for that round has been set.
9 developments
- StrongIran rejects Qatari proposal for trilateral meeting with US
- StrongIranian spokesman: no trip to Pakistan or Geneva in coming days, deal not imminent
- StrongIran's deputy FM contradicts Trump: no Grossi meeting, no inspection of nuclear sites
- ConfirmedIranian delegation spokesperson rules out further talks with US
Source and signal
- Internal intake