U.S. and Iranian officials will hold indirect technical talks Wednesday regarding their deal to end the Middle East war, a diplomat familiar with the negotiations told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"U.S. and Iranian officials are to hold indirect technical talks on Wednesday in Doha with Qatari and Pakistani mediators on the memorandum of understanding, building on the progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit," the diplomat said.
U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will not be taking part in the technical talks, the diplomat added, after they met with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday.
Both the U.S. and Iran had said they would send officials for meetings in Qatar.
The memorandum of understanding, brokered by Qatar and Pakistan, included a 60-day cease-fire in the war that started with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, the reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and a timeframe for a final deal to end the war and reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear program.
Iranian officials were set to travel to Doha on Wednesday, but Tehran denied an earlier claim by U.S. President Donald Trump that there would be direct talks.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed the Iranian delegation would be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi but said the officials "have no plans for negotiations with the American side at any level over the coming days."
Kushner and Witkoff instead met with the Qatari prime minister Tuesday, the Gulf state's Foreign Ministry said.
The trio discussed "the ongoing talks between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran within the framework of the memorandum of understanding," the ministry said in a statement, adding that they also discussed developments in Lebanon.
