Negotiators from the U.S. and Iran travelled to Qatar to begin indirect nuclear talks on Tuesday, with American officials pessimistic a breakthrough will occur, according to Politico.
U.S. special envoy Robert Malley and Iranian official Ali Bagheri arrived in Doha for the latest round of EU-led negotiations, more than a year after talks on a return to the 2015 nuclear agreement began in Vienna.
European Union foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano told AFP that the Doha summit’s goal is to “unlock” the Vienna negotiations.
"We managed to unblock the process and we are going to move forward, and as a first step at this stage we have these proximity talks," he said from Brussels. "That means indirect talks between Iran and the United States on finding the way how to move forward."
The Doha talks are indirect, with negotiations from the U.S. and Iran in their own rooms communicating with each other through intermediaries, due to Iran refusing to directly engage with the U.S.
“Special Envoy Robert Malley met with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss the strong partnership and our joint diplomatic efforts to address issues with Iran,” the US Embassy in Qatar tweeted.
The talks being held in Vienna stalled after March. Since then, Iran has upped its nuclear enrichment program significantly, and has been chastised for removing and turning off cameras used by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to monitor compliance.