US seeks Iranian pledge to free up Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in Oman to discuss arrangements for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz; Washington is seeking a public commitment to free, safe passage.
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the US and Iran agreed to continue negotiations despite increased hostilities this week and declared that the ceasefire reached between the two sides has ended.
But no attacks were reported on Friday or Saturday, and a senior Iranian source told Reuters that an agreement had been reached between Iran, the United States, Qatar and Pakistan for a meeting and that mediators were trying to arrange it for Saturday, when Araqchi is in Oman.
Oman is helping broker an end to the war that has spread insecurity in the Gulf and raised prices around the world since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28.
CBS News and its UK partner BBC reported that US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to lead talks with Araqchi on Saturday. Iran’s Fars news agency later quoted a source as saying no talks would take place until the US withdraws from its positions.
Three Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers came under fire earlier in the week, prompting the US to strike Iranian sites and Iran to respond with attacks on US military facilities in the Gulf countries.
Araqchi accused the United States of violating the ceasefire agreement; The United States canceled the license allowing the sale of Iranian crude oil on Tuesday after the ships were hit.
“There can only be mutual harmony,” he wrote of X.
Although Iran has not claimed responsibility for the ship attacks, analysts say Tehran uses such actions to gain leverage in negotiations.
Iran has informed US officials that recent attacks on ships in the strait were a “faulty part of their system”, senior US officials told reporters on Friday, and the comments appeared to be aimed at calming tensions.
The flare-up has further raised doubts about the future of an interim deal aimed at ending the conflict and sent oil prices soaring, a politically sensitive issue for Trump ahead of congressional elections in November.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran asked us to continue ‘talks’. We agreed to do so, but the USA made it clear to them that the ceasefire was over!” Trump shared a post on the Truth Social platform on Friday.
Qatari negotiators met with officials in Iran on Friday to ease tensions and discuss the Strait of Hormuz, a person with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
In a written statement on Saturday, Iran’s new religious leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei threatened revenge for the death of his predecessor and father, who were killed on February 28.
The organization, which was released due to the funeral ceremonies of former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which the new leader did not attend, said that no matter what happens to Iran, revenge will be taken.
The message said, “We promise to avenge the blood of our martyr leader and all the martyrs.”
Trump announced on Friday that he had instructed the US military to be ready to launch thousands of missiles at Iran if Tehran attempted to assassinate him.
The Wall Street Journal and other US media reported this week that Israel shared intelligence with Washington that Iran had recently prepared a plot to assassinate Trump. There has been no comment from Iran yet regarding Trump’s latest statements.
A large crowd of mourners filled the courtyard at Thursday’s funeral services; some held signs that read “We Will Kill Trump.”
The interim agreement last month was aimed at paving the way for an end to the conflict, now in its fifth month, that has killed thousands, constrained energy supplies around the world and raised fears of a global economic downturn.
