Today's Edition
DOHA (AFP)
US President Donald Trump hailed the progress on Wednesday of indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Qatar, as the sides aimed to push forward negotiations and quell tensions following exchanges of fire.
The US leader said there had been "very good meetings" in Doha.
Iran insisted there would be no direct negotiations between the sides in the Qatari capital on the two parties' memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the Middle East war, which broke out with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.
"As far as things are going, the denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well," Trump told reporters as he prepared to board his Air Force One plane. "We hit them very hard... but we're getting along very well."
The memorandum of understanding, brokered by Qatar and Pakistan, culminated in a summit last month in Lucerne, Switzerland.
It includes a 60-day ceasefire pausing the war, the reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, and a timeframe for a final deal to permanently end the conflict and reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear programme.
The discussions, being held at a lower level and focused on the details of the MOU, were to "build on the progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit", the diplomat told AFP.
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were not taking part in the technical talks, the anonymous diplomat told AFP, after they met with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday.
Qatar's foreign ministry said the trio discussed "the ongoing talks" between the US and Iran "within the framework of the memorandum of understanding", as well as developments in Lebanon.
Since the signing of the US-Iran deal last month, both sides have exchanged fire, with Tehran targeting a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command responded by saying it had attacked 10 Iranian military targets.
Iran hit back with strikes against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, which both condemned Tehran for the attacks.
The exchanges of fire appear to have calmed in the days leading up to the talks in Qatar.
