Iran and US agree to halt attacks and renew talks, U.S. official says
Referring to the 14-article memorandum of understanding agreed on on June 17, which foresees the reopening of the strait to traffic, the official said, “Technical negotiations are planned to continue in all areas of the memorandum of understanding. For now, both parties will withdraw and ships will be able to move freely.” he said.
Axios, which reported the cessation of hostilities for the first time, citing a senior US official, said talks would continue in Qatar on Tuesday.
Also Read: Iran warns ships not to bypass its chosen Hormuz route
The return to diplomacy will come after several days of attacks and counter-attacks since Iran struck a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday; Both the United States and Iran will accuse the other of violating the temporary ceasefire agreed on June 17.
Iran launched missiles and drones at US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain early Sunday, shortly after President Donald Trump threatened that the Islamic Republic would cease to exist if it did not comply with an agreement to end the war.
Meanwhile, Israel said on Sunday that it had once again struck Iran-backed armed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and destroyed underground infrastructure used by the group in a village in southern Lebanon. This follows another attack on Saturday, just after the latest ceasefire agreement with Lebanon was signed on Friday. Iran says the conflict in Lebanon must end if a broader agreement is to be adhered to. The US military had previously said it struck Iran again, hours after a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy shipping route that Tehran has largely blocked off for much of the conflict.
Also Read: Iran warns any threat to Strait of Hormuz will ‘escalate tensions’
“There may come a point where we can no longer be reasonable and will have to complete militarily the job we have started so successfully,” Trump said on social media ahead of the Axios report.
“If this happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” he added.
The purpose of the 14-article interim peace agreement was to stop the conflict that started between the USA and Israel on February 28 and to reopen the strait while negotiations continue on issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.
VIOLENCE AND ACCUSES AFTER THE PEACE AGREEMENT
A round of mediated talks led by Vice President J.D. Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, were held in Switzerland a week ago and Washington waived sanctions on Tehran, but fighting has since resumed and intensified.
About an hour after Trump’s post, Kuwait’s military said its air defenses were responding to missile and drone attacks, while Bahrain said sirens were sounding there.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement that its navy and air forces launched missile and unmanned aerial vehicle operations targeting US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain.
State-run Press TV said the Guard said the US strikes violated the ceasefire and “will result in a complete halt of all diplomatic processes.” The Revolutionary Guard naval command said American bases in the region “will experience hell in the coming days.”
A US official, who confirmed that Iran targeted US facilities, told Reuters that there were no reports of US casualties or major damage to US facilities in the Middle East, but the situation was still ongoing.
Hours later, alarms rang for the second time in Bahrain; where officials said the Iranian attack damaged a residential building in Muharraq province and no casualties were reported. Bahrain called on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency session to hold Iran accountable.
The Kuwaiti army announced that two ballistic missiles were destroyed without any damage or loss of life.
Separately, Qatar said one of its citizens had died after being injured by shrapnel from a ship that went missing on Saturday. The interior ministry said a second person was injured in the incident, which occurred due to “military operations in the area”, without specifying a location or apportioning blame.
