Iran continues to talk, wants a deal: White House
The White House said that Iranian representatives continue their talks with the United States and want to make an agreement.
“The attacks that have occurred over the last few days are due to Iran’s violation of the Memorandum of Understanding that we signed with them,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. he said.
“Especially in the memorandum of understanding they signed, they were not going to open fire on commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and unfortunately they made a tragic decision and did this.
Leavitt said the Strait of Hormuz is open to ships not going to and from Iranian ports and that the U.S. Navy will remain there “to make sure that happens.”
Iran and the United States exchanged intense fire on Thursday in a week of tensions that all but broke last month’s ceasefire; But Iran’s release of a US citizen pointed to a way to prevent the resumption of all-out war.
For the first time since the Memorandum of Understanding paused the war, the United States launched two massive waves of airstrikes in a single day on Wednesday, mostly on targets near Iran’s southern coast, and continued firing on Thursday.
Iran has responded with missiles and drones targeting US military bases in neighboring countries, including a barrage on a recently expanded air base in Jordan.
After Iran restarted its blockade in the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, the USA blockaded Iranian ports again as of Wednesday.
“Iran continues to talk to the United States and express that they want to make a deal with us because they have suffered devastating blows on behalf of our US military,” @PressSec said. “In the MoU they signed, they… pic.twitter.com/bSGVkt4HCs— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 16, 2026
The US military said Iran opened fire on a tanker near Kharg Island and Hellfire missiles hit the chimney.
Iranian state media said on Thursday evening that US missiles hit Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and near Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s largest port, key navy and Revolutionary Guard facilities.
Iran has signaled that as its next move it may encourage its Houthi allies in Yemen to close another key strait, the Bab al-Mandeb at the mouth of the Red Sea.
Sources told Reuters that Iran has already told the Houthis to shut down if the United States threatens to attack Iran’s infrastructure.
The increasingly intense week of fighting has tested the limits of escalation that both sides had set during four months of fighting before last month’s ceasefire.
However, as the attacks continued, US President Donald Trump hailed the release of a US citizen in Iran as a “sign of goodwill”.
Human rights attorney Jared Genser identified her as Dena Karari, who he said “has been stuck in Iran on false charges since December 2024” and that she “is now safe and has returned to the United States.”
No statement was made from Iran on the issue.
