Why does Iran say the Doha talks went well? – analysis

Iran has claimed that the talks with Qatari counterparts regarding a potential agreement with the US went as planned. The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran said that his assessment of the Doha talks is positive.

“We are serious about reaching a good, strong and lasting agreement, and if the United States realizes that, an agreement can be reached,” according to Iranian reports.

So why is Iran saying the talks went well when other reports say the talks were a failure? Al-Ain media in the UAE reported that an unnamed US official said that the chances of reviving the Iranian nuclear agreement became worse after the indirect negotiations that took place between the US and Iran in Doha.
“We are serious about reaching a good, strong and lasting agreement, and if the United States realizes that, an agreement can be reached.”

Iranian reports

The official, who asked not to be identified, added that “the odds of reaching an agreement after Doha (negotiations) are worse than they were before and will get worse day by day.” Reuters also reported this statement. “You can describe the Doha negotiations at best as stumbling and at worst as a reversal, but at this stage, stumbling practically means going backward.”

The EU coordinator Enrique Mora said late Wednesday that “two intense days of proximity talks” in Doha had not yet yielded the progress that the EU team had hoped for, according to France 24, yet Iranian media continued to claim the talks were going well.

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The West needs to be careful not to let Iran gain from the crisis with Qatar (credit: REUTERS)

Iran-Qatar relations

This was part of the way Iran was praising Qatar for its help. Qatar helped broker the deal that saw the Taliban retake Afghanistan. Qatar often plays both sides and works with the US and Iran, as well as Turkey and Saudi Arabia; and even funnels money to Hamas while talking to Israel regarding Gaza’s stability. That means that it always positions itself as the gatekeeper to extremists and empowers them. Iran wants to be empowered more and believes Qatar can help.

Qatar’s foreign ministry appears to believe that the negotiation process was constructive and positive. Iran doesn’t want to insult Doha, so Iran’s media says that “the Foreign Minister of Qatar, whose country hosted this round of indirect tripartite negotiations between Iran and the United States with the facilitation of the European Union, called the process of negotiations constructive and positive.”

Iran’s foreign minister also expressed his gratitude for Qatar’s hospitality and stated: “Our assessment of the latest stage of negotiations in Doha is positive.”

Iran claims to be serious about the talks and says that the talks in Qatar, with the EU present, began after the visit of the EU foreign policy chief to Tehran recently.

“What we are doing in the negotiations is not about the nuclear dimensions…it is only about the parts of the dispute that remain regarding the lifting of sanctions. What is being done is only about a few remaining issues in the area of​​lifting sanctions, so nothing will be added to the agreements made in Vienna and nothing will be reduced,” said Saeed Khatibzadeh, the former Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman, regarding these negotiations.

Iran’s goal is thus to get sanctions relief, and not really do anything in return.