Qatar says US envoys will not meet Iranians in Doha

US envoys arrived in Doha for talks with mediators after days of US-Iranian strikes, but Qatar said no direct meetings with Iranian officials are scheduled, undercutting President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran had requested a meeting in the Qatari capital.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, were in Doha to discuss regional issues and the negotiations with Iran, but only with mediators.

“The talks will be around all regional issues which are of concern, including, of course, the negotiations with Iran, but also including Lebanon and other files in the region,” Ansari told reporters. “So, they are not here for direct negotiations with the Iranians or related meetings.”

He added: “To the best of my knowledge, there are no direct meetings scheduled between the two parties in the coming days.”

Trump had announced on social media Monday: “IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” Speaking to reporters, he described the meeting as “perhaps important, perhaps not” and said the US objective remained “the denuclearisation of Iran.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff and Kushner would travel to Doha for “high-level meetings this week.”

Iran denied that any meeting with the US was planned. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai said Iranian officials were likely to hold talks with mediators in Doha on Wednesday about implementing provisions of a memorandum of understanding, including the release of Iranian assets frozen under US sanctions.

“We will not have any negotiation meetings at any level with the American side in the coming days,” Baqai said, according to Al Jazeera. He said the trip by US representatives to Qatar had “nothing to do with the Iranian delegation’s trip.”

The dispute over the Doha meetings follows a four-day exchange of strikes that threatened a preliminary agreement to end a four-month war involving the US, Israel and Iran. The memorandum of understanding, brokered by Pakistan and Qatar less than two weeks ago, committed the sides to halt military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, and immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which about 20% of global oil and gas shipments pass.

The agreement gave the parties at least 60 days to reach a final deal covering Iran’s nuclear programme, US sanctions and a permanent truce. Mediators had said the first round of talks in Switzerland, attended by US Vice-President JD Vance and Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, made encouraging progress. They also said a communication line had been created to help commercial vessels pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz.

That did not prevent the latest violence. The BBC reported that the exchange began when Iran attacked a cargo ship on Thursday after efforts to open Omani territorial waters to inbound and outbound traffic on the southern side of the strait. Al Jazeera reported that Washington blamed Tehran for attacks on a container ship and an oil tanker using the US-backed route, then responded with strikes on infrastructure and military installations on Iran’s southern islands. Iran then targeted US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, Al Jazeera reported.

On Sunday night, a US official said both sides would “stand down for now” and that vessels could “move freely” in and around the strait. Ansari said a hotline for de-escalation had been used to contain the exchanges of fire.

The frozen funds remain another sticking point. Ansari said the release of $6bn of the $12bn in frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar depends on progress in US-Iran talks that has not yet occurred. Al Jazeera reported that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday that $6bn held in Qatar would be released, while Trump and other US officials have said Iran’s access would depend on compliance and that the money would be used for food and medical supplies from the United States.

Baqai said Iran would “do whatever is necessary to safeguard its interests” over the Strait of Hormuz and implement the memorandum’s provisions.