Middle East

NPR  - The United States and Iran have sent delegations to Qatar, after exchanging attacks in recent days. The White House said that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff were on their way there for talks about a long-term peace agreement. Iranian officials have made it clear that they will not meet with them. For Iran, this meeting appears to be more focused on discussing with Qatari officials the release of approximately $6 billion in frozen assets. The release of this money, which is about half of the assets frozen in Qatar, was included in a memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S. and Iran.

 Both countries' haste in these talks seems to stem from a lack of trust, NPR’s Ruth Sherlock says. Iranians, in particular, are concerned that the Trump administration might go back on its commitments, especially given the history of failed talks. Iran is also furious about a separate deal brokered by the U.S. between Israel and Lebanon on a road map to end the war. Israel is still fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. The Israel-Lebanon deal stipulates that Hezbollah must disarm, and it makes Israel's withdrawal from the large areas of land it occupies contingent upon Hezbollah disarming first. Hezbollah, which was not part of the agreement, has rejected the deal outright, calling it a “surrender of Lebanese sovereignty.”