An Iranian delegation has travelled to Qatar as Tehran and the United States strive to agree on a deal to end a war that threatens to rend the Middle East and is roiling the global economy.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati were reported on Monday evening to be in Doha to discuss sticking points related to the potential deal to end the nearly three-month US-Israel war on Iran.
The talks in Qatar come after US President Donald Trump said earlier on Monday that an agreement with Iran must be “meaningful,” threatening that the alternative is “no deal”.
That came days after Trump had claimed that an agreement with Tehran had been “largely negotiated” as both sides continue to express erratic sentiment regarding progress.
Washington and Tehran have observed a ceasefire since April 8, while mediators push for a negotiated settlement. However, Iran has continued to block the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping, and the US is imposing a blockade on Iran’s ports.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran and the US “have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the discussion topics”, but warned that “this does not mean that the signing of an agreement is imminent.”
Addressing a news conference in Tehran, Baghaei also emphasised that at this stage, Iran and the US have not been “talking about the nuclear issue” and their focus is “on ending the war”, which began on February 28.
The Iranian official reiterated that there are, however, “no guarantees” that the US would honour its commitments in any potential deal and said Tehran does not care about “threats”.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would either secure a strong agreement with Iran or confront the country “another way”.
“We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today. I wouldn’t read too much into it,” Rubio said on Monday while visiting New Delhi.
“We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the strait, get the strait open,” he told reporters.
On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US blockade would “remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed”.
“Both sides must take their time and get it right,” he added.
Confidence building
Omar Rahman, fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, said the Iranian delegation’s presence in Qatar was a “good sign”, but noted that the lack of agreement on issues, including the Strait of Hormuz, remains a major obstacle.
“Iran has found a tremendous amount of leverage and power through its de facto control of the global economy,” he told Al Jazeera.
A senior Trump administration official told the Reuters news agency early on Monday that Iran had agreed “in principle” to dispose of its highly enriched uranium and open the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US lifting its naval blockade.
Japan’s Nikkei reported on late on Monday that discussions over a plan to open the vital waterway, through which around one-fifth of the globe’s oil and gas exports are usually shipped, were still ongoing.
According to an unnamed Middle Eastern diplomatic source, Iran would clear mines from the strait during a 30-day window following an agreement, after which ships from all countries would be able to navigate freely and safely, and Iran would stop collecting transit fees, Nikkei said.
The Japanese outlet reported that the latest discussions would see the ceasefire extended for 60 days, during which talks on Iran’s nuclear programme would be held.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify this report, but sources have reported that discussions on issues further than the ceasefire and strait, including Iran’s enriched uranium, will have to wait, while the focus remains on confidence-building measures.
The US official said Washington envisioned first reopening the strait and lifting the US naval blockade. The US official quoted by Reuters appeared to largely agree with that schedule, noting that negotiating the details of the nuclear measures would take more time.–Al Jazeera
