The United States and Iran agree to stop attacks after counterstrikes
The United States and Iran agreed to halt counterstrikes and resume talks on Tuesday in the Qatari capital, Doha, to resolve their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, days after a military escalation that threatened to derail a fragile ceasefire.This announcement came after several rounds of strikes around the Strait of Hormuz. The United States launched strikes on Iranian military targets after it accused Tehran of violating the ceasefire by attacking commercial ships. Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, while the two sides exchanged new warnings about further escalation.According to Axios, the two countries have now agreed to stop attacking each other and continue technical negotiations in Doha.“We have decided to stop all kinetic activity,” a senior US official told Axios, referring to military strikes and other attacks.A second US official said the two sides would stand aside “for now” and that “ships can move freely” while technical discussions continued. The two officials confirmed that the talks are scheduled to take place in Doha on Tuesday.The renewed fighting stems from different interpretations of the memorandum of understanding signed earlier this month to end the conflict, especially Article 5, which addresses navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Under the agreement, Iran committed to doing its utmost to ensure the safe passage of commercial ships through the strategic waterway, while the United States agreed to lift its blockade of Iranian ports.During negotiations in Switzerland last week, the US delegation, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, also agreed to establish a direct “hotline” between the US military and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to coordinate shipping movement through the Strait of Hormuz.
But American officials said that the communication channel is still blocked, with Iran renewing its insistence on the necessity of coordinating the passage of ships with Tehran.The technical talks were originally scheduled to take place in Switzerland and focus on the Iranian nuclear program. However, the recent escalation has shifted the venue to Doha and the agenda towards resolving the Strait of Hormuz dispute.This development comes after Iran announced that it had canceled the technical talks on Sunday, citing the recent American attacks and what it described as Washington’s failure to fulfill the terms of the memorandum.Speaking to Iranian state television, Mehdi Fazili, a member of the Office for Preserving and Publishing the Works of the Iranian Supreme Leader, said that one of the reasons for suspending the talks was the lack of access to Iranian funds.“For example, one of the reasons is to check whether we can access unfrozen funds, and if there is no access, it means that this condition is not met,” he said.
