Indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Doha have yielded progress on multiple fronts, including the release of frozen Iranian funds, a new crisis communication mechanism and the future of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi announced the conclusion of the latest round of talks in Doha on implementing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that halted the US-Iran war, with Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoting him as saying participants had agreed that "a communication channel would be established by Thursday" to report and record violations of the agreement.
Al Arabiya sources said a trilateral meeting was also held between Iran, Qatar and Pakistan on the sidelines of the talks to review the MoU's implementation, with discussions covering both Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior source told the channel that Iran accused Israel of undermining the agreement by keeping its forces in Lebanon, while Tehran maintained that the Strait of Hormuz falls under Iranian and Omani sovereignty. Iran has requested that five provisions of the MoU be implemented before other issues are addressed, the source said.
Sources added that a new Omani proposal on the strait remains under discussion, with negotiating delegations expected to return to their capitals for consultations on it.
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On the question of frozen assets, an initial agreement to release $3 billion to Iran has reportedly been reached, though Tehran has conditioned the release on progress made at each stage of the negotiations.
Gharibabadi confirmed separately that Iran would use part of its frozen funds held in Qatar to purchase goods the country needs, telling IRNA that discussions with Qatari officials, including the central bank, had reviewed how part of an initial $6 billion would be spent.
"It was agreed that, based on the needs communicated by our country, the required goods would be purchased and made available to Iran," he said.
A US official, however, reportedly said that no frozen funds have actually been released and no will be unless Iran meets the requirements set out in the MoU, with Washington retaining approval over how any released funds are used.
The official said any released Iranian assets would go towards purchasing American agricultural products from US farmers to feed the Iranian people.
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