The parties agree to continue discussions in the coming period, with the next round of talks planned
Pakistan and Qatar facilitated separate meetings between US and Iranian negotiators in Doha on Thursday, with both sides reporting positive progress on issues linked to Islamabad’s memorandum of understanding (MoU), according to an official statement.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X said that Qatari and Pakistani mediators had separate agreements with the US and Iranian negotiating teams in the Qatari capital.
The statement said the discussions recorded “positive progress” on issues related to the Islamabad MoU, building on understandings reached during the Lake Lucerne Summit.
It added that the parties had agreed to continue discussions in the coming period, with the next round of talks planned at the earliest possible opportunity after the funeral procession of the former Iranian supreme leader.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not disclose details of the issues discussed or elaborate on the content of the Islamabad MoU. It also did not identify the members of the negotiating teams or specify a date for the next meeting.
The meetings come as US Vice President JD Vance said discussions between the US and Iran were going well as they held indirect technical talks in Qatar on the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, adding that Washington would not return to full combat unless necessary.
The talks are based on a 14-point interim agreement signed last month that was intended to halt the war that began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran in February and reopen the strait while establishing 60 days of talks on a permanent peace deal.
However, the US and Iran have sparred publicly over the meaning of the interim pact, leading to military strikes over the past week and leaving little sign of progress on more complex issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.
Read: US, Iran negotiations conclude in Doha with a focus on the Strait of Hormuz
Vance said he could not guarantee that Washington would not return to full combat operations before next month’s deadline, but that President Donald Trump had so far asked officials to strike a deal.
“I can’t commit to anything, because of course it depends on what the Iranians ultimately have to do,” he told reporters on a visit to Virginia Beach, Virginia. “What I can commit to is this: The president will not send our military back unless he has to, unless there is a clearly defined purpose.”
In Doha, technical talks focused on commercial shipping in the strait and would later turn to Tehran’s nuclear capabilities, Vance said, adding: “It’s still pretty early, but the talks are going well.”
Iran is determined to win international recognition for its control of key oil shipping waterways and its ability to levy fees on ships entering or leaving the Gulf, even if it has to do so by force, according to two senior Iranian sources.
Traffic has partially resumed through the strait, which handled a fifth of global trade in oil and liquefied natural gas before the war.
Trump, who has said removing Iran’s highly enriched uranium is a top priority, told reporters on Wednesday that “the disarmament of Iran is progressing well,” without giving details.
Asked about the possibility of returning to all-out war with Iran, Trump added: “Well, I think they’ve come a long way. We hit them very hard last week. I think they’re doing fine.”
The indirect talks, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, began on Tuesday evening and continued on Wednesday, an Iranian official said.
They are structured as sessions between chief negotiators and specialists, a source familiar with the talks said, adding that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff met with the Qatari prime minister to lay the groundwork for the talks but would not attend.
Kushner and Witkoff later met with Qatar’s emir to discuss US-Iran negotiations and developments in Lebanon, where a parallel conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah erupted in early March.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi led a delegation of representatives from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Central Bank and Ministry of Agriculture, met Qatar’s prime minister and held talks with mediators.
Iran has publicly stated that its priorities include agreeing on the management of the strait and the release of $6 billion in Iranian frozen assets, and the Iranian official said the current discussions would focus on these two issues.
The US’s stated priority is to ensure the free flow of traffic through the strait, the source with knowledge of the talks said.
