US, Iran officials to hold indirect talks in Doha

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(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on June 18, 2026 shows (L) a videograb from footage made available on June 18, 2026, from the X account of French President Emmanuel Macron showing US President Donald Trump during the signing of a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war, inside the Chateau de Versailles, in Versailles southwest of Paris on June 17, 2026 and (R) a screen grab taken from video footage broadcast by Iran’s IRINN Iranian state television network and made available via AFPTV on June 18, 2026 shows Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian holding a document showing a memorandum of understanding he signed to end the Middle East war.. US President Donald Trump and Iran’s president signed a deal on June 17 meant to end the Middle East war, with Tehran agreeing to dilute its enriched uranium in return for large-scale economic relief. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP) / – Israel OUT / XGTY – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT « AFP PHOTO / @EmmanuelMacron » – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS – NO ARCHIVE Israel OUT / NO Access Israel Media/Persian Language TV Stations Outside Iran / Strictly No Access BBC Persian / VOA Persian/Manoto TV / Iran International / / Radio Farda — / Attention editors: AFP covers the war in the Middle East through its extensive regional network, including bureaus in Tehran, Jerusalem, and several neighboring countries. Since the start of the conflict, journalists have been working under increasingly restrictive conditions. Authorities in several countries have limited reporters’ movements, photo and live video coverage from sensitive locations. Some governments and armed groups have banned images of missile or drone strikes and other security-related sites. RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / IRINN via AFPTV” – HANDOUT – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS /

Officials from the United States and Iran will on Wednesday hold indirect technical talks on their deal aimed at ending the Middle East war, a diplomat with knowledge of the talks told AFP.

“US 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.

US 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 US 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 ceasefire in the war that started with US-Israeli strikes on February 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 programme.

Iranian officials were set to travel to Doha on Wednesday but Tehran denied an earlier claim by US President Donald Trump that there would be direct talks.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei 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 on 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.