DOHA — Iran denied on Tuesday that it had requested a meeting with the United States in Doha, with negotiator Kazem Gharibabadi saying technical talks would only proceed once both sides agreed on a date and venue, while a senior Iranian source told Reuters that U.S. and Iranian representatives would still meet in the Qatari capital that day.
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday that Iran had requested a meeting to be held in Doha on Tuesday, offering no further detail. Gharibabadi pushed back hours later, saying media reports of working-group talks in Doha were "not confirmed" and that the first round of technical discussions would happen once conditions were finalized through mediating countries.
Despite the public denial, a senior Iranian source told Reuters that U.S. and Iranian representatives would meet Tuesday in Doha to discuss management of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and de-escalation between the two countries. It would be only the second direct sit-down between the sides since Trump and Iran's leadership signed a memorandum of understanding, following an initial meeting in Switzerland on June 21.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei separately confirmed that an Iranian expert delegation would travel to Doha later this week to discuss implementation of the memorandum, but said Tehran would hold no negotiating meetings with the U.S. "at any level" in the coming days. He added that Iran has not entered the stage of negotiating a final agreement.
Asked about the Doha meeting, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office it could be "perhaps important, perhaps not," adding: "We're going to find out."
The discrepancy between Trump's announcement and Iran's official statements had not been resolved as of Tuesday. It remained unclear whether the reported Doha meeting, described by the Iranian source to Reuters, was distinct from the formal technical talks Tehran said had not yet been scheduled.
