DOHA — Indirect meetings between US and Iranian delegations in Doha have concluded with “positive progress” on issues related to a recent memorandum of understanding, host Qatar said on Wednesday.US and Iranian negotiators met separately on Wednesday with Qatari and Pakistani mediators.”Qatar and Pakistan mediators concluded separate meetings with the US and Iranian negotiators in Doha today, with positive progress made on issues related to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, building on the outcomes of the Lake Lucerne Summit,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari wrote on social media platform X.”The parties agreed to continue discussions over the coming period, with the next meeting to be scheduled at the earliest possible time following the funeral processions of the former Iranian Supreme Leader,” he added.Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli strike Feb. 28. His funeral ceremony is scheduled to start on Friday.US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, were in Qatar for talks seeking a permanent end to the war, along with Iran’s top negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi.Negotiators aim to nail down specifics to pave the way for top leaders to seal an agreement, though differences over the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon loom large.A ship ran aground in the strait while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details.The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran’s claims to control the strait, which the world has long considered an international waterway. Since the US and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28, Iran has used its ability to choke off the waterway as a key source of leverage, disrupting global markets for energy and other critical goods.Iranian state TV on Wednesday said the ship “ran aground with its cargo because of shallow waters along the route it had chosen and was unable to continue sailing.” It said shippers needed to follow the instructions of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the strait.US President Trump said on Wednesday that indirect talks with Iran in Qatar were making progress, offering a tentative sign that diplomacy was holding after recent exchanges of fire threatened efforts to end the Middle East war.”As far as things are going, the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well,” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One.”We hit them very hard… but we’re getting along very well.”The Qatar discussions, held at a lower level and focused on implementing the memorandum, were meant to “build on the progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit,” a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.Tehran denied Trump’s earlier claim that the talks would be direct, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei saying Iran had “no plans for negotiations with the American side at any level over the coming days.”Gharibabadi, who led Tehran’s delegation, later said the talks had concluded and that the sides had agreed to establish a communication channel by Thursday to report and record violations of their initial memorandum of understanding.Gharibabadi said the discussions also covered frozen Iranian assets, whose release Tehran has demanded as part of any settlement.He said officials reviewed the use of part of an initial $6 billion and agreed that goods needed by Iran would be purchased and made available.Witkoff and Kushner met Wednesday with Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and its foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to a statement by the Qatari government.Discussions included details related to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, US Vice President JD Vance told reporters in the US.“Obviously, we’re worried about the nuclear issue,” Vance said. “We’re going to start talking about that.”Sheikh Mohammed also met with Gharibabadi and other Iranian officials, with Pakistani mediators also on hand.Gharibabadi said the Iranian delegation had no direct talks with the American side, and its talks with mediators dealt with Lebanon and plans to return some of Iran’s frozen assets, Iranian state media reported.Iran also has called for Israel to give up the land it now occupies in southern Lebanon. Israel insists it must hold the territory and have a free hand to attack Hezbollah, which has been launching attacks into northern Israel.In other developments Wednesday, a US Navy helicopter made an emergency water landing into the Arabian Sea, leaving one crew member missing, the Navy’s 5th fleet said in a statement.The Navy said there was “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.” It said the MH-60S Sea Hawk went into the water at 3:30 a.m.Three of the helicopter’s four crew members were rescued, the statement said. The Navy was searching for the missing crew member.The Navy statement did not say whether the aircraft sank or was recovered. The helicopter was assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush, one of two aircraft carriers deployed in the waters off Iran.DOHA — Indirect meetings between US and Iranian delegations in Doha have concluded with “positive progress” on issues related to a recent memorandum of understanding, host Qatar said on Wednesday.US and Iranian negotiators met separately on Wednesday with Qatari and Pakistani mediators.”Qatar and Pakistan mediators concluded separate meetings with the US and Iranian negotiators in Doha today, with positive progress made on issues related to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, building on the outcomes of the Lake Lucerne Summit,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari wrote on social media platform X.”The parties agreed to continue discussions over the coming period, with the next meeting to be scheduled at the earliest possible time following the funeral processions of the former Iranian Supreme Leader,” he added.Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli strike Feb. 28. His funeral ceremony is scheduled to start on Friday.US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, were in Qatar for talks seeking a permanent end to the war, along with Iran’s top negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi.Negotiators aim to nail down specifics to pave the way for top leaders to seal an agreement, though differences over the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon loom large.A ship ran aground in the strait while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details.The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran’s claims to control the strait, which the world has long considered an international waterway. Since the US and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28, Iran has used its ability to choke off the waterway as a key source of leverage, disrupting global markets for energy and other critical goods.Iranian state TV on Wednesday said the ship “ran aground with its cargo because of shallow waters along the route it had chosen and was unable to continue sailing.” It said shippers needed to follow the instructions of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the strait.US President Trump said on Wednesday that indirect talks with Iran in Qatar were making progress, offering a tentative sign that diplomacy was holding after recent exchanges of fire threatened efforts to end the Middle East war.”As far as things are going, the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well,” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One.”We hit them very hard… but we’re getting along very well.”The Qatar discussions, held at a lower level and focused on implementing the memorandum, were meant to “build on the progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit,” a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.Tehran denied Trump’s earlier claim that the talks would be direct, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei saying Iran had “no plans for negotiations with the American side at any level over the coming days.”Gharibabadi, who led Tehran’s delegation, later said the talks had concluded and that the sides had agreed to establish a communication channel by Thursday to report and record violations of their initial memorandum of understanding.Gharibabadi said the discussions also covered frozen Iranian assets, whose release Tehran has demanded as part of any settlement.He said officials reviewed the use of part of an initial $6 billion and agreed that goods needed by Iran would be purchased and made available.Witkoff and Kushner met Wednesday with Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and its foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to a statement by the Qatari government.Discussions included details related to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, US Vice President JD Vance told reporters in the US.“Obviously, we’re worried about the nuclear issue,” Vance said. “We’re going to start talking about that.”Sheikh Mohammed also met with Gharibabadi and other Iranian officials, with Pakistani mediators also on hand.Gharibabadi said the Iranian delegation had no direct talks with the American side, and its talks with mediators dealt with Lebanon and plans to return some of Iran’s frozen assets, Iranian state media reported.Iran also has called for Israel to give up the land it now occupies in southern Lebanon. Israel insists it must hold the territory and have a free hand to attack Hezbollah, which has been launching attacks into northern Israel.In other developments Wednesday, a US Navy helicopter made an emergency water landing into the Arabian Sea, leaving one crew member missing, the Navy’s 5th fleet said in a statement.The Navy said there was “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.” It said the MH-60S Sea Hawk went into the water at 3:30 a.m.Three of the helicopter’s four crew members were rescued, the statement said. The Navy was searching for the missing crew member.The Navy statement did not say whether the aircraft sank or was recovered. The helicopter was assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush, one of two aircraft carriers deployed in the waters off Iran.
Qatar reports 'positive progress' in indirect US-Iran talks in Doha
