US, Iran will not hold direct talks, as frozen funds not yet released, Qatar announces

The United States and Iran will meet today in Doha, US President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social, despite setbacks in the ongoing peace negotiations since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding earlier this month.Upon their arrival in Qatar, the Qatari Foreign Ministry stated that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would not hold direct discussions with Iranian officials during the day's negotiations."No high-level meeting is planned at this stage between the United States and Iran. The six billion dollars of frozen Iranian funds have not yet been transferred to Tehran, and their transfer will be carried out by agreement between the two sides and in accordance with the progress of the negotiations between Washington and Tehran. The Strait of Hormuz, its opening and the resumption of navigation through it are issues of paramount importance." Qatar's Foreign Ministry stated."A direct line of communication has been used to de-escalate the recent clashes. Freedom of navigation is a right guaranteed to all Gulf states, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is unacceptable, or a threat to the safety of navigation in it. The focus now is on restoring regional security and stability to the situation that existed before the war, and we welcome France's participation in clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz."The resumption of the negotiations comes after last week's technical talks in Switzerland between senior officials from both sides, which Qatari and Pakistani mediators described as a "positive and constructive atmosphere."Since then, however, the US has struck Iran several times, and Iranian drones have attacked tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, with both sides claiming to be responding to ceasefire violations from the other.US, Iran agree to end hostilities, reopen Strait of HormuzUnder the current MoU, both sides agreed to cease hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas typically transits.The accord also paves the way for 60 days of more in-depth talks on thornier issues such as Iran's nuclear program, although both sides have given conflicting accounts as to what was agreed.Reuters contributed to this report.