Iran denies participation in technical talks with the US in Qatar

Iranian officials have officially denied that any technical meetings between Iran and the United States were scheduled for this week in Doha, Qatar. Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, characterized reports from US media regarding a meeting about the Strait of Hormuz as incorrect. Conversely, other reports citing state sources and Mehdi Fazaili, an aide to the Supreme Leader, suggest that Iran intentionally skipped the June 29 talks. According to Fazaili, the decision was influenced by recent incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, Israeli military actions in Lebanon, and frustrations over unfulfilled terms of a US-Iran memorandum, specifically regarding frozen assets. While diplomatic consultations between Iran and Qatar regarding US commitments remain ongoing, the technical working group meetings in Doha have not been confirmed by Tehran. The conflicting accounts highlight a discrepancy between official diplomatic denials and reports citing internal Iranian policy decisions.