Trump announces Doha talks amid conflicting claims from Tehran

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that high-stakes diplomatic talks with Iran would occur in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, describing the meeting as "perhaps important." He reiterated the US stance on neutralizing Tehran's nuclear ambitions, stating the baseline objective is Iran's denuclearization.

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There'll be a meeting on that tomorrow in Doha... we'll see how that goes. But we're doing very well on that front. The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not; we're going to find out.

Trump initially shared the news on Truth Social, claiming Iran requested the meeting. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt corroborated this on Fox News, stating the meeting was organized at Iran's behest. The US delegation includes Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner.

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It's really very simple, it's the denuclearisation of Iran. We don't want them to have a nuclear weapon, and they're not going to have a nuclear weapon, and they've agreed to that, in all fairness.

However, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, flatly denied any engagement with American representatives. He clarified that while an Iranian delegation is traveling to Qatar, their visit is unrelated to the US officials and is solely to follow up on existing bilateral agreements, specifically Article 11 of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

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Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha!

Baghaei emphasized that formal negotiations for a comprehensive treaty have not begun, as they are contingent upon the implementation of other articles within the MoU. These conflicting public declarations underscore the deep-seated domestic and international tensions surrounding US-Iran relations, particularly after recent military escalations in the Strait of Hormuz.

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The fact that US representatives are travelling to Qatar has no connection with the trip of the Iranian delegation.