Qatar’s separate talks with Iran, US on drones, nuclear programme: Report

The reported meetings took place this week in New York on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly. On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Qatar held separate talks with Iran and the United States on Iran’s nuclear programme and US concerns about Iranian drone transfers to Russia, according to a report by the Reuters news agency. Both sources said the talks differed from the recent diplomacy Qatar conducted that led to Monday’s Iran-US prisoner swap. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have amplified since at least 2018 when then-President Donald Trump shuttered the end of a 2015 deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear prowess and ramped up US sanctions. “When it comes to perhaps the number-one issue of concern, which is Iran’s nuclear programme, we continue to believe that diplomacy is the best way to get a sustainable, effective result,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.