Iranian delegation travels to Doha as Araghchi calls US outreach a "positive step"

DOHA — An Iranian delegation has travelled to Doha for consultations, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on Saturday. He said one of his aides is in Qatar, a day after Qatari mediators visited Tehran.

Araghchi described a recent US effort to open dialogue as "a positive step". He said, however, that Iran has no plans to meet US officials at this stage. The two countries have been at war for eight months, according to Al Jazeera.

What Araghchi said

Araghchi said Iranian officials had studied a letter from US Vice President JD Vance in high-level meetings. He said Tehran had also set out its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. In his account, reopening the strait would pave the way for renewed negotiations with Washington.

"The American side's attempt to open the door to dialogue and understanding more broadly is a positive step," he told Al Jazeera.

He attached a warning. "If Washington's goal in sending this letter is to stir up discord, it would be yet another mistake to add to its previous ones," he said.

Araghchi dismissed reports of forthcoming meetings between Iranian and US officials. "What is being circulated in this regard is merely media speculation," he said. He added that Iran saw "no need to meet with the Americans at this stage" and that mediators were continuing consultations on Tehran's conditions.

He said whether Iran would take part in direct or indirect talks with the US depended on those conditions being met. Qatari and Pakistani mediators are both holding consultations on them, he said.

On the nuclear issue, Araghchi said mediators had put forward proposals that Iran is reviewing "as part of the second phase". He did not give details of the proposals, according to the Al Jazeera report.

Strait of Hormuz proposal

Araghchi said talks with Qatari mediators had shortened the time needed to carry out Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. According to him, the Qatari side proposed an implementation period of five days. He said the sides had now reached a proposal at this stage that cuts the period to two days.

He listed several Iranian conditions. They include lifting sanctions imposed after the Islamabad memorandum and reducing US forces in the region. Iran also wants oil waivers restored and all its frozen funds released, including funds held in Qatar, he said.

Iran is also seeking recognition of shipping routes through the strait that it discussed with Oman, and the closure of other routes, according to Araghchi.

Araghchi also said Iran does not rule out an attack against it. Al Jazeera's summary of the interview said he described Iran as prepared for all scenarios. The text available for this report was cut off before the full remarks.

Analysts and reporters

Rouzbeh Parsi, an Iran analyst and affiliated researcher at Lund University's Department of History and Human Rights Studies, commented on Friday's talks in Tehran. He told Al Jazeera that any progress was most likely on "the sequencing of the first steps needed to establish the barest of trust – without which further bolder steps are not possible".

Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar Atas, reporting from Tehran, said there was "no remarkable flexibility in Iran's position". He said Tehran was repeating the same demands while negotiations continue. He added that the US wants Iran to reopen the strait and that both sides want their demands met on the ground, not only on paper.

Social media reports

Al Jazeera's Arabic news channels carried the main points in posts on Telegram on Saturday. In one post, the Al Jazeera Arabic channel said Araghchi had told the broadcaster that an Iranian delegation had gone to Doha and that his aide was in Qatar to continue consultations. In another, the Al Jazeera Mubasher channel quoted him as saying Iran had studied the Vance letter closely. The channel said he called the US attempt to widen dialogue a positive step. These posts match the account in Al Jazeera's English report.

What is not confirmed

The sources do not name the members of the Iranian delegation or say how long it will stay in Doha. They do not give the contents of the Vance letter. The reports do not say whether the US has accepted or responded to the two-day implementation proposal. Nor do they say whether Washington has commented on Araghchi's remarks. Araghchi's statements are the main source for the details of the talks, and no US or Qatari official is quoted.

Background

Atas said the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June. Under it, Washington guaranteed oil waivers and said it would place no further restrictions on Iranian oil exports. The memorandum collapsed months later, and the US cancelled all the waivers, he said.

Iran continues to demand the release of its frozen assets, including $6bn held in Qatar, according to Atas. It also wants sanctions lifted. He said these include measures on its energy and nuclear sectors and those imposed since the memorandum collapsed, which he said put heavy pressure on Iran's economy.

Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Friday in an apparent effort to negotiate a revival of the US-Iran ceasefire, according to Al Jazeera.