US and Iran Make Progress in Indirect Talks in Qatar, Says Trump

US President Donald Trump hailed the progress on Wednesday of indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Qatar, as the sides aimed to push forward negotiations and quell tensions following exchanges of fire. The US leader said there had been "very good meetings" in Doha after an early dispute over the format threatened to overshadow discussions. Iran insisted there would be no direct negotiations between the sides in the Qatari capital on the two parties' memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the Middle East war, which broke out with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. "As far as things are going, the denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well," Trump told reporters as he prepared to board his Qatar-gifted Air Force One plane, which the wealthy Gulf emirate donated last year. "We hit them very hard... but we're getting along very well." The memorandum of understanding, brokered by Qatar and Pakistan, culminated in a summit last month in Lucerne, Switzerland. It includes a 60-day ceasefire pausing the war, the reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and a timeframe for a final deal to permanently end the conflict and reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear programme. Earlier a diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, confirmed negotiations were underway in Doha with Qatari and Pakistani mediators.