Iran, U.S. Resume Indirect Talks in Doha After Ali Khamenei Funeral

Iran and the United States concluded a new round of indirect talks in Doha, with mediators announcing Thursday that the discussions were part of efforts to ease tensions after exchanges of military strikes between the two sides.

“US officials believed Israel plotted to kill Iranian negotiators: report Washington asked regional countries to warn Tehran about possibility that Israel could target 2 officials, New York Times reports Rabia Iclal Turan 03 July 2026•Update: 03 July 2026 WASHINGTON Current and former US officials believed that Israel might have been plotting to kill Iran’s top negotiators during sensitive ceasefire talks this spring, the US daily The New York Times reported Thursday”

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The talks were conducted under a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 through Pakistani and Qatari mediation, and they were scheduled to continue for 60 days with an option of renewal.

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Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who headed Tehran's delegation, said participants agreed to establish a communication channel by Thursday to report and document any potential violations of the memorandum of understanding.

Gharibabadi added that discussions also addressed Iran's frozen assets, and he said officials discussed using part of an initial six billion-dollar package and agreed to purchase and secure the goods Iran needs.

Roya News said indirect talks between Washington and Tehran would resume after the funeral ceremonies for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with funeral ceremonies beginning Saturday and Khamenei's body lying in state at the Imam Khomeini Musalla in Tehran.

As the indirect talks continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office rejected a New York Times report alleging that ‘Israel’ considered targeting senior Iranian negotiators during the ceasefire talks earlier this year.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office described the claims as “fake news” and “a complete fabrication of reality,” according to News18 and the Times of Israel framing of the denial.

CNN

News18 said the New York Times reported that US officials had reached out to regional countries to warn Iran about the chances of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf facing assassination attempts during negotiations.

The Times of Israel reported that on Friday the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the report as “fake news,” adding that “A complete fabrication of reality” was the statement’s wording.

CNN reported that the US warnings were communicated through intermediaries and that the US worried Israel might assassinate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf or Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during talks this spring.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi corroborated reports that Washington warned Tehran Israel may have had its chief negotiators on a target list during April talks in Islamabad.

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DW

Euronews said the talks in Islamabad, mediated in part by US Vice President JD Vance, produced the framework deal Iran and the US signed on 17 June to halt their war, and it said the two countries were in a 60-day extended ceasefire meant to allow negotiating sides to produce a final agreement.

Euronews quoted Araghchi saying, “We are Iranians, we don't fear death for our nation,” and it added that he said, “Cowards attack from behind. We went for regional peace. Now you see who the real cancer is,”.

The same Euronews report said Pakistani fighter jets escorted the Iranian delegation's aircraft from the Iranian border to Islamabad and back, and it said the Iranian aircraft made an emergency landing in Mashhad amid an Israeli military threat.

Roya News said Khamenei is scheduled to be buried on July 9 at the shrine of Imam Reza in the northeastern city of Mashhad, his birthplace, tying the funeral timeline to the resumption of indirect talks after the ceremonies.