Doha/Tehran – Iranian officials in Qatar are pushing to revise the wording of a potential agreement with the United States in an effort to secure the earlier release of some frozen Iranian assets, Channel 12 reported, citing a US source.
Iranian top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Iran’s central bank governor are in Doha for talks with Qatar’s prime minister on the potential US-Iran deal, in part hoping to discuss the potential release of frozen Iranian funds as part of a final agreement, an official told Reuters earlier today.
Disputes over language on Iran’s nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions have held up finalization of a deal to end the war, according to US officials, though there’s optimism that the differences will be resolved relatively soon.
The presence of an Iranian delegation in Qatar on Monday — including senior members of Tehran’s negotiating team — was a positive sign, one US official said, citing Qatar’s mediating abilities.
The US has been looking for firm commitments from Iran that it will dispose of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and not pursue a nuclear weapon. A US official said Sunday that Iran had agreed in principle to those points.
But Iran says it is not discussing details of its nuclear program, leaving that for a future round of talks.
“This is one of the main sticking points in the negotiations,” a regional source familiar with the negotiations said. “Things are changing every single minute.”
According to Israeli Channel 12, Tehran is seeking to introduce the last-minute changes in order to present tangible achievements on the domestic front.
In a separate report that did not cite sources, Channel 12 says Qatar has also proposed extending Iran a $12 billion loan earmarked for humanitarian purposes, which, according to the report’s framing, would effectively function as an economic grant for Tehran.
Senior US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff plan to visit Israel if an agreement is ultimately reached, the Hebrew network adds, citing a US official, who says that they would come ahead of the deal for consultations and briefings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, US President Donald Trump pays tribute to the US troops killed in the campaign against Iran, vowing again that Tehran “will never have a nuclear weapon.”
“In Operation Epic Fury, we lost 13 wonderful souls, wonderful, special people. These incredible men and women gave their lives to ensure that the world’s number one state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump says as the US pursues an agreement with Iran to end the conflict.
“Oh, and they won’t. They will never have a nuclear weapon, I’m sure you know that,” Trump says.
