Amid efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, Qatar welcomed hosting EU-mediated indirect talks between the US and Iran on Tuesday.
Voicing hope that the talks will conclude with positive results, the Qatari Foreign Ministry affirmed in a statement that it is “fully ready to provide an atmosphere that would help all parties make the talks a success.”
Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al- Thani met with US Special Envoy to Iran Robert Malley earlier on the same day in Doha.
The US Embassy in the Qatari capital said on Twitter that the meeting focused on “the strong partnership and our joint diplomatic efforts to address issues with Iran.”
In an effort to break a three-month deadlock in the Vienna nuclear talks, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri also arrived in Doha for the indirect talks with the US.
The discussions hosted by Qatar came days after a visit by EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell to Tehran and his talks with Iranian officials.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani visited Tehran and held wide-ranging talks last month with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi. Speculations of Qatari mediation efforts in breaking the stalemate in the Vienna talks and unfreezing Iran’s frozen assets were fueled by this visit.
The de-listing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-linked organizations and guarantees that the future US administration will not walk out of the deal again are key disagreements between the US and Iran that have led to the stalemate.
The US, during the presidency of Donald Trump, withdrew from the landmark deal in May 2018, which was followed by the reinstatement of sanctions on Iran under the “maximum pressure” campaign.
