Despite recent mutual attacks, negotiations between the US and Iran appear to be going according to plan. According to US President Trump, a meeting will take place today in Doha. It’s unclear who is talking to whom.
The bottom line is that there is no shooting, there are negotiations. But for a long time it was unclear who was talking to whom and in what context. US President Donald Trump announced that the meeting will take place in the Qatari capital Doha. The Iranians would like this. There was no confirmation of this from Iran. Rather, it was said that no discussions at a technical level were planned this week.
According to media reports, this is where the mediators, Qatar and Pakistan, come into play. US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will hold talks with Qatari Prime Minister Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Doha. After this, technical teams from the US and Iran will reportedly hold talks separately with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan.
New attacks – despite Statement of Intent
Two weeks ago, the US and Iran called for an immediate and permanent end to the war in a joint declaration of intent. However, violence flared up again last week as the US military bombed positions in Iran. Iran fired drones and missiles at US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. This was preceded by Iranian attacks on civilian ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Lots of open questions
The government in Tehran insists on control of the strait, which is so important to the global economy. From the US point of view, this contradicts the joint declaration of intent. This is probably the most important of the many open questions.
In principle, there is something to discuss in Doha. It is possible that direct negotiations will still take place between Iranian representatives and US envoys. Observers do not believe this is out of the question.