President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the US and Iran were to hold talks in Doha, the capital of Qatar on Tuesday. He claimed that Iran had requested this meeting. But Iran completely rejected the news and speculations of any kind of talks or meetings with America. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghai clarified that the visit of the Iranian delegation to Doha, Qatar has nothing to do with American officials. After this announcement, Doha peace talks got stuck in limbo.
Iran has clearly said that currently no level of talks are scheduled with America in Qatar. Negotiations on the final agreement will begin only when America implements the initial conditions of the 14-point MoU. This statement from Iran rejected Trump’s claims regarding the meeting. It has also become clear that Iran does not take any decision under any pressure.
In a post on social media, Trump wrote, “Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha.” He did not provide any further details about the proposed talks.
Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected Trump’s claim
“We are not going to have any meetings or negotiations at any level with the American side in the coming days. The visit of the US representatives to Qatar has no connection with the visit of our delegation,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Baghai said at a press briefing. He said the Iranian delegation will travel to Doha this week, but the aim is to follow up on the implementation of the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), especially Article 11.
Iran referred to 14 point memorandum of understanding to Trump
Citing the 14-point MoU, the Iranian spokesperson said that according to Article 13, formal negotiations on a final agreement can begin only when the process of implementation of Articles 1, 4, 5, 10 and 11 has begun and continues. Let us tell you that technical negotiations usually involve lower-level diplomats who work out the details of a potential agreement, before senior political leaders engage in formal talks.
These contradictory statements have increased uncertainty over the future of Iran-US talks. Pakistan, which is playing the role of mediator, had earlier indicated that talks could resume on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Trump administration also said that the talks have not been canceled and technical level discussions will continue in the coming days.