Iran Sends Top Team to Qatar for ‘Most Sensitive’ Nuclear Talks; Trump Pushes Regional Expansion of Abraham Accords
DOHA/QATAR – Iranian officials have arrived in Qatar for a high-stakes round of indirect negotiations with the United States, aiming to resolve the “most sensitive unresolved issues” standing in the way of a potential memorandum of understanding (MoU). The development comes as former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is leading the American side of the negotiations, publicly confirmed that a full deal has “not been fully negotiated yet.”
According to a correspondent for Al Jazeera in Tehran, Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, along with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, landed in Doha on Sunday, May 24, 2026. Their mission: to finalise critical sticking points in the proposed agreement, which reportedly spans nuclear activities and sanctions relief.
Despite the high-level diplomatic movement, officials on both sides are tempering expectations of an immediate breakthrough. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei acknowledged that while “some progress has been made” during talks mediated by Pakistan, “a large portion of the discussion topics” have been addressed, it does not mean that ‘the signing of an agreement is imminent’.
Trump’s Regional Vision
In a parallel track, Trump has linked the Iran negotiations to a broader reshaping of Middle Eastern alliances. He has formally called on six nations – Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkiye – to join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered normalisation agreements with Israel.
The request suggests that Washington sees a potential Iran deal as a gateway for a wider regional realignment against common threats, while also requiring these countries to establish formal ties with Israel. As part of the ongoing diplomatic push, Trump reiterated that the Iran deal itself remains incomplete, stating that it has “not been fully negotiated yet.”
What’s Next?
With the Iranian team now in Qatar, the focus is on whether they can bridge the remaining gaps – particularly regarding the scope of Tehran’s uranium enrichment and the release of frozen assets. Meanwhile, the inclusion of the Abraham Accords expansion as a condition for finalising the U.S.-Iran understanding adds a complex layer to the talks, as several of the named nations have previously conditioned normalisation with Israel on concrete steps toward Palestinian statehood.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
