Iran denies US claims of direct talks in Doha this week, as President Trump lowers expectations for the summit.By World Israel News StaffPresident Donald Trump downplayed talks between US and Iranian officials in Qatar this week, just hours after he announced that the meeting had been scheduled at Iran’s request.Trump said planned discussions in Doha over the future of a fragile US-Iran ceasefire could prove “perhaps important, perhaps not,” even as Tehran insisted it had not agreed to negotiate with American officials in Qatar.Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said US officials were traveling to the Qatari capital for talks tied to the June 17 memorandum of understanding that paused months of fighting and set a framework for discussions on Iran’s nuclear program, de-escalation and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.“The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not,” Trump said. “We’re going to find out.”Trump said the US position remained centered on blocking Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.“We are winning militarily. It’s almost won militarily, I would say,” he said. “And it’s really very simple. It’s the denuclearization of Iran. We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, and they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve agreed to that, in all fairness.”The comments came after the White House said Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Doha for what it described as high-level meetings on Iran. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the discussions would address the memorandum of understanding, with technical talks continuing alongside the senior-level contacts.“Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be flying to Doha for high-level meetings this week, as we continue to discuss the memorandum of understanding,” Leavitt said. “On the sidelines of those high-level talks, will be the technical talks.”She added that Washington considered itself in compliance with the ceasefire, while warning that the US would keep responding to attacks.“As far as we’re concerned, we’re holding up our end of the ceasefire. Violence will be met with violence,” Leavitt said.Iran, however, publicly disputed the American description of the Doha contacts. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said an Iranian delegation would travel to Qatar to discuss implementation of the memorandum, but not to negotiate with US representatives.“We will not have any negotiation meetings at any level with the American side in the coming days,” Baghaei said, according to Reuters.In comments carried by Iran’s Press TV, Baghaei said Tehran’s “current priority” was to ensure the implementation of the memorandum’s provisions, and that formal negotiations on a final agreement would depend on the continued implementation of several clauses. He said Iran was focused in particular on sanctions relief for oil exports and the release of blocked Iranian funds.“Iran’s current priority is to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the MoU, and we are seriously pursuing our demands in this regard,” Baghaei said.The clashing accounts underscored the uncertainty surrounding the June 17 accord, which was intended to halt a four-month conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that normally carries roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade.The ceasefire has already been strained by renewed attacks. The US said that Iran struck at least two commercial ships with missiles or drones in recent days, and responded by bombing Iranian military facilities. Iran, in turn, launched missiles and drones at US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain early Sunday.Leavitt said the US response to attacks on commercial vessels would continue if necessary, while maintaining that Trump wanted diplomacy to proceed.“There were attacks on commercial vessels that the United States of America, directed by the president, responded to, and that will continue to happen, but we hope we don’t see that,” she said. “The president obviously wants to see the peace process play out.”Iran has also sought to assert greater control over the Strait of Hormuz, saying it plans to charge fees to ships using the waterway and obstructing vessels that do not follow approved routes, Reuters reported. The dispute over Hormuz has become one of the central obstacles to stabilizing the ceasefire.The diplomatic confusion comes as the Trump administration faces pressure to show that the ceasefire can hold after months of fighting disrupted energy markets and raised fears of a broader regional war.Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed members of Congress on Monday, with Republican Sen. Steve Daines calling the call “constructive,” while Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer criticized it as “deficient, and devoid of details.”The post Trump downplays Doha talks as Iran denies meetings with US officials appeared first on World Israel News.