Qatar Using Channels to Reconcile Iran, US Stances on Nuclear Issue

Qatar’s foreign minister said Doha is using all existing open channels with Iran and the United States to bring their ideas closer on ways to restore the 2015 nuclear deal.
“Reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran is important for us because it would lead to stability in the region,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told Al Jazeera.
His remarks came after Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met US President Joe Biden in Washington on Monday to discuss bilateral ties and pressing regional issues. 
The top diplomat had himself visited Iran on Thursday and met top authorities, just days before the ruling emir’s diplomatic visit to the US. 
Iran and the US are holding indirect talks in the Austrian capital Vienna to work out a way for both sides to return to their commitments under the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Washington quit the JCPOA in 2018 and reimposed the lifted sanctions, and Iran responded by scaling down its commitments. 
The communication in Vienna has been in the form of non-paper contact through the European Union coordinator of the talks, Enrique Mora, as Tehran refuses to meet Americans directly. 
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman had earlier said Al Thani’s discussions in Tehran involved bilateral ties, dismissing speculations about Qatar’s role of carrying messages between Iran and the US. 
“Just as we refuse to discuss regional issues with non-regional countries, we also pursue issues regarding the Vienna negotiations within its own legal frameworks only,” Saeed Khatibzadeh had said. 
State news agency IRNA also published a report saying the Qatari foreign minister’s visit was not intended to help set up direct talks with Washington.
“Although Doha and Tehran are experiencing good and close relations, speculations ... have fuelled some misconceptions about the nature of the visit. Some are fabricating it to facilitate direct talks with the United States,” it said.
Nevertheless, Qatar’s emir discussed the nuclear talks with the US president and Doha appears to be willing to use its good relations with both sides for reconciling differences. 
The Vienna talks are its eighth, and so far the longest, round but key differences still remain. The talks took a break on Friday and negotiators headed back to their home countries for consultations with their respective governments until next week.
The European Union coordinator of the talks said at the time that “political decisions are needed now.”