DOHA (Reuters) – Iran and the United States are holding indirect negotiations at the technical level in Doha on Wednesday, with Qatar and Pakistan acting as mediators, an informed source told Reuters. The source said that the main delegations and specialized teams are participating in the meetings. There was no immediate official confirmation from Tehran or Washington, and the exact scope of the discussions could not be independently verified.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari confirmed in a press conference today, Tuesday, that communications at the technical level between the two sides have continued since the previous meetings held in Switzerland, whether directly or indirectly, with mediators working to continue the process in Doha and other places. He said that the Iranian and American technical delegations “are still in session” and that the meetings are being held in various forms to ensure continuity. Doha, Qatar, emerged as a major venue for the post-ceasefire diplomatic track, as the Qatari Foreign Minister reaffirmed Doha’s support for the dialogue emerging from the memorandum of understanding between the two countries.
The talks come approximately two weeks after the official signing of the memorandum. Overnight on June 17 and 18, Iran and the United States remotely signed the agreement providing an end to the military hostilities that erupted on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched large-scale strikes on Iran. The document also sets timelines for the United States to lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports and for Iran to restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas previously flowed before conflict effectively blocked the route.
Regarding Iran’s nuclear program – the most contentious and unresolved issue in the broader negotiating framework – the memorandum commits Tehran not to possess nuclear weapons while deferring the full resolution of its nuclear activities to a separate, ad hoc agreement. The two sides are scheduled to hold negotiations on the nuclear issue within 60 days. For Iran, reaching a successful outcome on this path is directly linked to the comprehensive lifting of US sanctions. Tehran has always emphasized that easing sanctions is the central criterion against which any agreement will be measured.
The Doha session forms part of a broader diplomatic structure that has taken shape since the ceasefire in April. Pakistan has played the role of key mediator throughout the conflict, hosting the Islamabad talks last April, which marked the first direct high-level contact between high-level American and Iranian delegations. Qatar, a US ally that also maintains working relations with Tehran, played a complementary mediation role, with the Qatari prime minister traveling to Tehran and hosting US envoys in Doha. Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner were in Doha on Tuesday to meet with the Qatari prime minister to lay the groundwork for Wednesday’s sessions, though neither attended the technical talks directly. According to Al Jazeera.
The format of the dual mediator reflects, in part, the sensitivities that each side has brought to the table. Pakistan is home to the largest Shiite Muslim population outside Iran, and unlike the Gulf Arab states, it does not host any US military bases, giving it a degree of credibility in Tehran that Western or Gulf mediators cannot easily emulate. In contrast, Qatar offers geographic proximity, institutional infrastructure, and an established role as a conduit between Washington and regional actors.
The technical nature of Wednesday’s talks suggests that the two sides are still a long way from achieving a high-level breakthrough but are nonetheless working to maintain momentum on implementing the June memorandum. The ceasefire framework sets out a 60-day period during which the core issues – nuclear restrictions, sanctions relief, maritime governance, and frozen assets – are expected to be addressed in sequential negotiations. US officials have made clear that Iran’s nuclear program is a non-negotiable focus of any final agreement, while Iran has consistently called for comprehensive, upfront sanctions relief rather than phased or conditional relief tied to compliance standards.
Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers issued a statement last week calling for any final agreement with Tehran to include limits on Iran’s missile capabilities – an issue that has not yet been formally raised in the current round of talks. The United States and Iran have not agreed publicly on the issue of frozen Iranian assets; Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said this week that $6 billion of Iranian funds held in Qatar would be released as part of the interim agreement, although the Qatari Foreign Ministry said no transfer had been made yet and that it would proceed according to the progress of negotiations. The Jerusalem Post reported.
The diplomatic process was not without friction. On June 21, Iranian negotiators in Switzerland reportedly received a threat from President Trump, who warned them that they “would not even go back to their country” if the Strait of Hormuz was closed. Iran refused to comment. Separately, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani reportedly refused to engage with Vice President J.D. Vance during the same period while serving as a mediator, an account that neither Doha nor Washington has publicly confirmed.
Against this backdrop, the continuation of technical-level talks in Doha indicates that the two governments have concluded that working out implementation details – even without resolving the key disputes – is better than collapse. The outcome of those talks over the next few weeks is likely to shape the course of the broader post-war settlement in the Gulf, including the permanent status of the Strait of Hormuz, an issue whose resolution has serious consequences for global energy markets.
