Trump says US 'getting along well' with Iran as both countries hold indirect talks in Qatar

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States is “getting along well” with Iran, as the two countries began indirect talks via mediators in Doha on Wednesday, in a bid to advance negotiations and ease tensions following exchanges of fire between the two sides. “The denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well,” Trump told reporters before leaving for a trip. “They’ve had very good meetings, and we’ll see.” He added that Tehran had “come a long way” in negotiations with Washington. “We hit them very hard last week. I think they’re fine,” he said. “It’s the denuclearisation of Iran, it’s very simple, and Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.” Both the US and Iran said they would send officials to discuss the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the Middle East war, but Iran insisted direct negotiations would not take place. A diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, confirmed negotiations were underway, after earlier saying the foes would take part in “indirect technical talks on Wednesday in Doha with Qatari and Pakistani mediators”. The discussions, being held at a lower level and focused on the details of the MOU, will “build on the progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit”, the diplomat told AFP. However, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazim Gharibabadi said that the negotiations for a final deal with Washington have yet to begin, Iran’s Fars news agency reported. “Follow-up working groups for implementing the understanding and negotiating the final agreement have been formed, but no negotiations have yet begun in these formats,” Gharibabadi said. 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 that broke out with US-Israeli strikes in late February, as well as the reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and a timeframe for a final deal to permanently end the conflict and reach an