Iran rejected proposals for direct talks with the United States during meetings in Doha, amid unprecedented flexibility from the US side, according to Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, head of Iran's Journalists Association, Al Mayadeen reported.
Speaking to Al Mayadeen, Shamsolvaezin said US officials made persistent efforts to arrange direct meetings with the Iranian delegation during the Doha discussions.
He added that Washington sought a meeting with Iranian officials in an attempt to "undermine the symbolism" surrounding the funeral of Iran's Leader martyr Sayyed Ali Khamenei.
According to Shamsolvaezin, Tehran rejected a Qatari- and Pakistani-mediated proposal for direct engagement, insisting that no face-to-face meetings be held with the US delegation. Despite the refusal, he said the Iranian delegation observed "unprecedented flexibility" from the American side during the indirect negotiations.
Shamsolvaezin also said the United States had softened its position regarding Iran's frozen assets, noting that funds held in Qatari banks would be released as part of ongoing understandings.
He further revealed that a trilateral committee involving the United States, Lebanon, and Iran would be established without Israeli participation to oversee the ceasefire.
The committee would monitor compliance with the ceasefire agreement and supervise the scheduling of the Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the recent war.
On maritime security, Shamsolvaezin said the United States rejected any Iranian mechanism that would grant Tehran full control over the Strait of Hormuz.
He added, however, that Iran remains firm in its position that "the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will not return to what it was previously."
The remarks came amid Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcement that Qatari and Pakistani mediators concluded separate meetings in Doha on Wednesday with the American and Iranian negotiating teams.
According to the Qatari Foreign Ministry, the parties agreed to continue discussions in the coming period, with the next round of talks to be scheduled following the conclusion of the funeral ceremonies for Sayyed Ali Khamenei.
bd-pratidin/GR
