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U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff (from left), U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump, meet with Ukrainian officials in Hallandale Beach, Florida, on November 30, 2025 (local time) / AP, Yonhap News

U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, arrived in Doha, Qatar, to attend high-level discussions regarding Iran, but Tehran has rejected face-to-face negotiations, Reuters reported on the 30th (local time).

According to Reuters, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stated during a routine press briefing shortly after Witkoff and Kushner landed in Doha, "No meeting at any level with the American side has been scheduled for the coming days."

Iranian officials emphasized that before entering full-scale negotiations over their nuclear program, the specific terms of the interim ceasefire agreement signed two weeks prior must first be finalized.

Tehran indicated that the U.S. delegation would instead meet with Qatari mediators. Qatar, which is actively driving the diplomatic push between Washington and Tehran, previously served as the primary intermediary when the two nations concluded their recent peace memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Qatari authorities confirmed that Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was among the key officials slated to meet with Witkoff and Kushner.

While the White House characterized the discussions involving Witkoff and Kushner as "high-level talks," Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari clarified that the parties were set to commence "low-level technical discussions."

Reuters noted that following recent military engagements between the U.S. and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and the broader Gulf region, Tehran's refusal to meet directly with the senior U.S. envoys has clouded prospects for a sustained peace.

Oil prices, which fluctuated sharply after recent U.S. airstrikes on Iranian military assets and subsequent Iranian retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, have since stabilized.

However, the UN Conference on Trade and Development warned on the 30th that even as energy markets find their footing, global economies remain vulnerable to the compounding risks of rising food and fuel costs.

                                                                                                            Park Jin-sook