Trump Says US Is Getting Along With Iran as Doha Talks Stall

Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington ended in a stalemate in Doha, with President Donald Trump insisting the US is getting along “very well” with Iran as mediators handled the discussions.

The Independent reported that Iran said it would not initiate remaining clauses of the memorandum of understanding until the initial five clauses were fully stabilised and finalised, while Trump told reporters that the “denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well” and that “very good meetings” were held in Qatar.

BBC

The talks were clouded further when Iran said it would not meet with top US envoys, with Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei saying, “No meeting at any level with the American side has been scheduled for the coming days.”

Channel Africa also said the two sides must still sort out the terms of a ceasefire they signed two weeks ago before tackling more difficult topics, including possible limits to its nuclear program.

In parallel, the Independent said Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Qatar on Tuesday to meet mediators, but no direct talks have taken place.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran would deliver an immediate and powerful response to any threat against its people or leadership, writing on X, “POTUS has committed the US to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv.”

Araqchi’s post was attached to comments made by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stating that Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was "marked for death," as the Independent described technical talks in Doha focused on the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and a lasting ceasefire.

BBC

The Independent also quoted US Vice President JD Vance saying Washington will not return to full combat with Iran unless there is a “clearly defined purpose” to it, while adding that he could not guarantee the US would not return to full combat operations ahead of next month's deadline.

Channel Africa reported that Trump weighed a return to all-out war, holding conversations with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine on conducting more strikes, citing US sources.

The Independent further said Trump refused to rule out “finishing the job” with a return to full-scale conflict but would prefer diplomacy, even as the talks remained tied to the memorandum’s clauses and the 60 days of negotiations for a permanent peace deal.

As Doha talks continued, Axios reported an American-Iranian understanding regarding the frozen Iranian funds, saying the mechanism concerned “about $3 billion of the frozen Iranian assets” and that the funds would not be transferred to Tehran in cash directly.

The same Axios report said the funds would be allocated to purchase essential goods, with part of these purchases coming from the United States, under a mechanism designed to meet economic and humanitarian needs without directly releasing cash for the assets.

The BBC laid out that the memorandum of understanding contains 14 provisions and includes a pledge that Iran would never possess a nuclear weapon, while calling for allocating $300 billion for reconstruction and economic development in the country.

The BBC also said the agreement states that the United States will begin removing its maritime blockade and any disturbances or obstacles imposed on Iranian ports, with the maritime blockade fully lifted within 30 days.

In the background of the ceasefire’s strain, the BBC noted that the memorandum’s first paragraph calls for an immediate and permanent cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, while a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that any continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon would constitute a violation of the understanding.