WASHINGTON, June 30: U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that high-level diplomatic talks with Iran are scheduled to take place Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, describing the meeting as “perhaps important” while reaffirming Washington’s objective of preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The announcement came even as Iranian officials publicly denied that any formal negotiations with the United States had been scheduled.
The diplomatic initiative follows a recent military escalation between the two countries over maritime incidents in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking at the White House during the signing of an executive order, Trump expressed confidence that the United States was in a strong geopolitical position, noting that global oil prices had stabilized and declined following the brief maritime confrontation.
“There’ll be a meeting on that tomorrow in Doha… we’ll see how that goes. But we’re doing very well on that front. The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not; we’re going to find out,” Trump said.
He reiterated the U.S. objective for the talks.
“It’s really very simple, it’s the denuclearization of Iran. We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, and they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon, and they’ve agreed to that, in all fairness,” Trump said.
Earlier, Trump announced the meeting on Truth Social, writing, “Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha!”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirmed during an interview with Fox News that the meeting had been arranged at Iran’s request.
The White House has assigned Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner to lead the U.S. delegation in Doha.
However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected Washington’s characterization of the planned visit, stating that no technical or political talks with U.S. officials are scheduled this week.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that although an Iranian delegation is traveling to Qatar, the visit is unrelated to the presence of U.S. officials. According to Baghaei, the delegation’s mission is solely to follow up on existing bilateral commitments under Article 11 of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
“The fact that U.S. representatives are traveling to Qatar has no connection with the trip of the Iranian delegation,” Baghaei said, dismissing reports of a joint summit.
He further stated that formal negotiations on a comprehensive long-term agreement have not yet begun.
“We have not yet entered the negotiation phase for the final agreement. According to Article 13 of the MoU, the start of negotiations for the final agreement is contingent upon the initiation of the implementation of Articles 1, 4, 5, 10, and 11, and the continuation of their implementation,” Baghaei said.
The conflicting public statements underscore the political and diplomatic pressures facing both governments. While Washington has sought to portray the meeting as a diplomatic breakthrough following heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran has been careful to avoid the appearance of negotiating under U.S. pressure.
Despite the differing public narratives, diplomatic backchannels remain active, with Qatar continuing to serve as the primary mediator between the two countries. (ANI)
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