President Donald Trump declared on Wednesday that indirect US–Iran talks in Qatar had produced “very good meetings” and that the “denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well.” Speaking to reporters before a flight to North Dakota, Trump linked the diplomatic track to falling oil prices and record stock markets, while acknowledging that US forces had “hit them very hard” in recent exchanges. His assessment came as technical-level discussions, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, concluded in Doha with an agreement to establish a communication channel by Thursday to report and record violations of the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed last month.

Tehran, however, maintained that no direct negotiations took place and that it had “no plans for negotiations with the American side at any level over the coming days,” according to foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, who led the delegation, said the talks focused on implementing the MoU and reviewed the release of a portion of $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets, with an understanding that required goods would be purchased and made available. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf separately ruled out granting International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors access to bombed nuclear sites, citing a binding parliamentary law and decisions of the Supreme National Security Council.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, reported “positive progress” on issues related to the MoU and noted that the talks would continue after funeral ceremonies for Iran’s former Supreme Leader. US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who met Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, did not participate in the technical sessions. Vice President JD Vance dismissed Iran’s public denial of peace talks as a “Persian negotiating tactic,” insisting that technical discussions were ongoing and that Washington was focused on actions rather than statements.

The MoU, brokered by Qatar and Pakistan and sealed at a summit in Lucerne, Switzerland, provides for a 60-day ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and a timetable for a final agreement on the war and Iran’s nuclear programme. Since its signing, both sides have exchanged fire: Iran targeted a commercial vessel it said had deviated from an approved route, US Central Command struck ten Iranian military targets, and Tehran retaliated against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. Oil flows through the strait have since increased, and a US official told Axios that Tehran’s ability to halt shipping is now limited. Analysts at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and the Royal United Services Institute in London caution that the process remains at an early stage, with battles being fought both privately and publicly and a “lack of transparency” surrounding the talks.

With the communication channel due to be operational within a day, the immediate next step is a pause for the funeral of Iran’s former Supreme Leader, after which mediators expect technical discussions to resume. The US side has signalled that it is prepared to let negotiations continue beyond the 18 August deadline for a new nuclear energy agreement, while Tehran insists that no further MoU clauses will be activated until initial ones are fully implemented.