TEHRAN — Iran’s senior negotiator Kazem Gharibabadi is currently in Qatar to oversee the implementation of existing financial agreements, and contrary to repeated American claims, no direct or indirect talks with the United States are taking place, a well-informed political source close to the Iranian negotiating team confirmed to the Tehran Times.

The source was responding to recent remarks by Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari, who stated that Iran’s $6 billion in frozen assets have not yet been transferred to Tehran and that the method and timing of any transfer depend on an agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

Al-Ansari’s comments confirm that Qatar is acting as a financial intermediary and account manager under the 2023 U.S.-Iran agreement, the source said, adding that the funds were never intended to be physically moved to Tehran.

"Under normal circumstances, foreign currency reserves held abroad remain in other countries as central bank reserves or are used to finance imports. That is precisely what is happening under an agreement made between Iran and Qatar during the quadrilateral talks held in June in Zurich—an arrangement that the U.S. has approved," the source explained.

Under Article 11 of the Islamabad memorandum signed ahead of the Switzerland talks—a provision specifically designed to ensure Iran can access its own funds for humanitarian imports in the face of illegal U.S. sanctions—the equivalent value of the assets is to be used exclusively for purchasing essential goods, including food, medicine, and agricultural products.

“For purchases to proceed, the assets first had to be unfrozen, and that has already been done,” the source said. “The Iranian delegation is currently in Qatar precisely for this purpose. These negotiations are about implementing the two agreements signed between Iran and Qatar at the Zurich summit—not about talks with the American side.” The source further added that if Iran is at any point unable to make purchases as stipulated, it will consider that a breach. “As of now, nothing of that sort has happened under Article 11.”

 No final-agreement talks have started

Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, met with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Wednesday morning, Iran's Foreign Ministry announced. Besides the Iranian assets held in Qatar, the two sides discussed the full implementation of the Islamabad MoU, examined obstacles in its path, and explored ways to accelerate progress, particularly regarding Lebanon. Iran’s ambassador to Doha, Ali Salehabadi, and Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari were also in attendance.

A trilateral meeting of senior negotiators from Iran, Qatar, and Pakistan followed.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Gharibabadi stated: “Today’s discussions focused on following up on the implementation of the [Islamabad] memorandum of understanding.” He confirmed that working groups have been formed to pursue implementation and negotiate a final agreement, but stressed that “no negotiations have yet begun in these formats.” Consultations on timing and location are continuing through mediators, and talks will start “once the necessary conditions are met.”

The Islamabad MoU, signed on June 17, allowed the U.S. and Iran to cease fighting and gave them 60 days to negotiate a final deal that would address Iran's security and economic concerns in exchange for caps on its nuclear program. One round of negotiations was held in Switzerland afterward, but Iranians decided to call off further talks with the U.S. following the violation of multiple clauses of the MoU by the U.S. and Israel. These violations have so far included ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon—despite the fact that hostilities were supposed to stop on all fronts under the first article of the MoU—an unsuccessful U.S. attempt to force a new non-Iranian route through the Hormuz Strait (under Article 5, ships can only pass under Iranian arrangements), and fresh U.S. attacks on Iran's southern territories, to which Tehran responded with its own missile and drone attacks on American military installations in the region.

Americans continue lying

For more than a week, American officials and media outlets have been claiming that U.S.-Iran negotiations are underway, despite repeated rejections from Iranian authorities. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump, who had initially suggested that Iranians and Americans would meet directly in Doha, claimed that "indirect" negotiations had taken place and that they had been successful.

These remarks appear aimed at domestic political consumption, as well as an attempt to control global oil prices, which began skyrocketing with the start of the war after Iran restricted passage through the Hormuz Strait. Prices only began to meaningfully decrease following the signing of the Islamabad MoU, though they have yet to return to pre-war levels.