Iran’s Araghchi Calls US Move to Restart Talks ‘Positive Step’

The signal here is tone rather than substance: Tehran characterizing a US opening as positive while explicitly ruling out direct meetings suggests a mediated, conditions-first track rather than a near-term bilateral breakthrough. That distinction matters most for regional risk pricing, where headlines can move sentiment faster than any actual diplomatic progress. The open question is whether the Doha channel with Qatari and Pakistani mediators produces anything concrete, or whether the gap between welcoming a gesture and declining to meet US officials hardens into the status quo.