Washington and Tehran: Direct negotiations contingent on 'Doha breakthroughs'
The launch of direct negotiations between the United States and Iran, which was expected to coincide with the entry into force of the memorandum of understanding signed between them and to last for two months, is linked to the progress made in ongoing technical meetings between the delegations of the two countries in the Qatari capital.
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump, discussed outstanding issues and disagreements over the interpretation of the memorandum of understanding with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman. However, the negotiations were limited to technical delegations.
An Iranian official told Reuters yesterday that the talks are focusing on two issues: the fate of the Hormuz Strait and the release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets. He noted that the US’s stated priority is ensuring free navigation through the strait connecting the Gulf and the Arabian Sea.
In response, US Vice President JD Vance affirmed the Trump administration’s commitment to the results of the negotiations he held with chief Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagheri Kani in Switzerland.
Vance specifically defended his agreement with the Iranians to form a US-Iranian-Lebanese committee to address the ceasefire in Lebanon. This proposal has been criticized for contradicting Washington’s sponsorship of negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv, and for giving Iran a blank check to restore its influence in Lebanon.
Kani said the night before yesterday that five articles of the memorandum of understanding have not yet been implemented, and that moving forward to direct negotiations depends on fulfilling them.
He stressed that Articles 1, 4, 5, 10, and 11 constitute preconditions for implementation. Articles 4 and 5 concern the Strait of Hormuz, and he emphasized that navigation through the strait is under Iranian control. This follows a round of mutual military strikes between Washington and Tehran triggered by the establishment of a third navigation channel outside the control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Article 1 refers to a ceasefire in Lebanon, which has not been fully achieved, while Article 11 refers to the US commitment to make frozen Iranian assets available. Washington continues to condition the release of funds on progress in the negotiations.
Kani stressed his support for the agreement with Washington, speaking of a divergence between Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom he accused of attempting to undermine the regional understanding process and described as an enemy of his country.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump held several conversations in recent days with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding “directing new military strikes” against Iran, but decided for now to continue on the negotiation track.
According to the information, Trump informed his aides that he does not object to extending negotiations with the Iranians beyond the August 18 deadline to reach a nuclear agreement.
This came as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to launch a “third strike” against Iran if it attempted to counter Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon, confirming that his forces would remain in “security zones” in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, without specifying a withdrawal timeline.
In response to Katz’s threat, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that the memorandum of understanding is clear and available to all, and explicitly obliges the US president to restrain his allies in Tel Aviv.
Separately, Iranian reports claimed that a foreign container ship ran aground in the strategic strait after entering shallow waters outside the navigation channel designated by the Revolutionary Guard Navy, south of Larak Island.
