US Special Representative for Iran Robert Malley met with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, where an Iranian delegation also arrived on Tuesday, ahead of the start of Iranian-American talks in the Qatari capital on Tehran’s nuclear program. .

Indirect talks between Washington and Tehran are scheduled in Qatar this week.

The US Embassy in Doha tweeted on Tuesday that Mali met with Qatar’s foreign minister and “discussed the close partnership between the United States and Qatar and joint diplomatic efforts on Iran.”

For its part, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported that the chief negotiator of the Islamic Republic, Ali Bagheri, and members of the delegation accompanying him arrived in Doha on Tuesday.

It comes after Iran and the United States announced on Monday their intention to resume indirect talks between them in Qatar this week in a new attempt to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh confirmed on Monday that talks will focus on lifting the sanctions imposed by Washington on Tehran and will take place “in one of the Persian Gulf countries” later this week.

The US State Department said the talks will be held in the Qatari capital Doha.

On Tuesday, Doha welcomed the holding of a round of talks to be held under the auspices of the European Union coordinator.

A statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry reaffirmed “the full readiness of the State of Qatar to create an atmosphere that will help all parties succeed in dialogue.”

Qatar expressed hope that “the round of indirect talks will end with positive results that will contribute to the revival of the nuclear agreement.”

In this context, the Qatar News Agency reported that the Foreign Minister received a phone call from his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, during which they discussed a number of issues, including “the development of negotiations on a nuclear agreement, highlighting the importance of regional dialogue.” with Iran and rapprochement of the parties.

The United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 under former President Donald Trump and re-imposed economic sanctions on Tehran. A year later, Iran responded by starting to backtrack on many of its core commitments, most notably its uranium enrichment commitments.

President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to return to an agreement, arguing that this path is the best course with the Islamic Republic, despite growing pessimism expressed in recent weeks, as the chances of a breakthrough in negotiations between the major powers and the Islamic Republic in Geneva diminished.

Qatar, which has better relations with Tehran than most Gulf states, is aiming to become a major diplomatic hub, and Doha has previously played a role in orchestrating talks between Washington and the Taliban ahead of the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan.