A fresh contradiction between Washington and Tehran emerged on Tuesday over whether the two sides are set to hold negotiations in Doha, with US President Donald Trump announcing imminent talks while Iranian officials flatly denied any such meetings were scheduled.
Trump, posting on Truth Social, earlier said Iran had approached the United States for a meeting. "Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha!" he wrote.
Speaking separately to reporters, the president doubled down on America's core demand.
"The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not. We're going to find out... It's really very simple. It's the denuclearization of Iran. We don't want them to have a nuclear weapon — and they're not going to have a nuclear weapon," he said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also confirmed the Doha trip, saying US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner would travel to Qatar for discussions with Iran on Tuesday. She said the meeting followed a request from Iran and that Trump remained committed to seeing the peace process through.
"The president wants to see the peace process play out, and Iranians would be best to sign a good deal with the United States of America," Leavitt told Fox News.
Tehran, however, pushed back sharply. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters at a press briefing: "In the coming days, we have no negotiation meetings at any level with the American said," he reportedly said as per Fars News Agency.
He added that the Iranian delegation's trip to Qatar was unrelated to any US engagement.
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"The fact that US representatives are travelling to Qatar has no connection with the trip of the Iranian delegation, which is being undertaken to follow up on the implementation of the provisions of the memorandum of understanding, including Article 11," he said.
Baghaei also stressed: "We have not yet entered the negotiation phase for the final agreement."
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi earlier echoed the denial through state broadcaster IRIB, stating that no technical working group meetings were scheduled for this week under the 14-point MOU framework.
"The first round of technical talks will be held within the framework of the designated working groups, once conditions are in place and after an agreement is reached on the date and location, and consultations in this regard are continuing through the intermediary countries," he said.
The duelling narratives reflect deepening mistrust between the two sides, even as Qatar — a key mediator — continues to facilitate back-channel communication between Washington and Tehran.
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