DOHA: The United States and Iran have made progress in indirect talks, according to mediators Qatar and Pakistan. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al Ansari said on Wednesday that “positive progress” had been made on issues related to the framework agreement reached two weeks ago to end the Iran war.
The talks in the Qatari capital Doha were held separately with negotiators from the two parties to the conflict. Al Ansari wrote on X that the parties had agreed to continue discussions in the coming period, with the next meeting to be scheduled as soon as possible after the funeral processions for former Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in late February. According to Iranian reports, the ceremonies are to begin on July 4 in the capital Tehran and the pilgrimage city of Qom.
The burial is due to take place on July 9 in Khamenei’s birthplace, Mashhad, in the north-east of the country. An interim deal was agreed to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz and end hostilities, but major questions still need to be tackled in talks, including Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Qatari and Pakistani mediators concluded separate meetings with the US and Iranian negotiators in Doha (Wednesday), with positive progress made,” Pakistan said on Thursday. Islamabad added the sides agreed to keep talking, “with the next meeting to be set at the earliest possible time following the funeral processions of the former Iranian Supreme Leader.” — dpa
