'Positive progress' in US-Iran indirect talks in Doha: Qatar spokesman

DOHA, Qatar: US and Iran negotiators made “positive progress” during indirect talks in Doha, with the next round expected after the late Iranian supreme leader’s funeral, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said.

“Qatar & Pakistan mediators concluded separate meetings with the US & 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 said Wednesday on 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.”

Sources said negotiators for the two countries spent two days in Doha discussing maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and financial incentives for Iran, two pillars of the initial agreement ​they signed in June, rather than more difficult topics that framework was supposed to tee up.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday ​the United States was getting along ‌very well with Iran and that recent meetings in Qatar went well.

“The denuclearization of ​Iran is moving along well,” Trump ​told reporters. “They’ve had very good meetings, and ⁠we’ll see.”

The U.S. and Iran ​held technical talks in the Qatari capital of ​Doha on Wednesday as they seek to agree on the flow of shipping through the Strait ​of Hormuz.