Pakistan confirmed today (Thursday) that the United States and Iran had made positive progress in the talks that took place through mediators in Doha, explaining that the Pakistani and Qatari mediators held separate meetings with the American and Iranian sides.
The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the progress achieved was positive and related to the discussion of the memorandum of understanding that was signed in Islamabad, which was followed by the summit held in Switzerland.
She explained that it was agreed to resume negotiations as soon as possible after the end of the funeral ceremony for the late Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, which is scheduled to begin on the fourth of July and extend until the ninth of July.
For his part, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “We are coordinating with our partners in Qatar to continue working to facilitate the American-Iranian negotiations,” indicating that after the Doha round, it was agreed to continue consultations to determine the date of the next round.
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously confirmed that the Qatari and Pakistani mediators concluded separate meetings with American and Iranian negotiators, noting that positive progress had been made on issues related to the memorandum of understanding signed in Islamabad, based on the outcomes of the Swiss Lake Lucerne summit.
An atmosphere of optimism prevails in Washington after the round of indirect technical negotiations in Doha, amid talk of progress in implementing the terms of the memorandum of understanding.
The US administration confirmed that the continuation of the diplomatic track, the files of the Iranian nuclear program, freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and frozen Iranian assets remain the most prominent issues that will determine the fate of the negotiations between the two sides.
This round of contacts comes within the framework of efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan to maintain the negotiation process between Washington and Tehran, following the understanding reached in Geneva, which opened the door to resuming dialogue on a number of controversial issues, amid hopes that the upcoming rounds will contribute to narrowing the gap of differences between the two sides.
During the past months, Doha has hosted several indirect meetings between American and Iranian officials, as part of mediation efforts aimed at consolidating understandings and reducing tension, in light of regional and international support for the continuation of the diplomatic path.
