The US and Iran have agreed to halt attacks on each other. The two sides are expected to meet on Tuesday (June 30) in the Qatari capital Doha to discuss their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a senior US official was quoted as saying by "Axios".
The ceasefire agreement has been in place for just 11 days, but it has already been threatened by renewed attacks from both sides and President Donald Trump's threat to resume the war and "finish what he started". The new escalation was sparked by differing interpretations of the memorandum of understanding to end the war, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz.
"We have made a decision to cease all kinetic activities," a senior US official told Axios, using the military term for airstrikes and other attacks. A second US official told the publication that for now both sides would refrain from military action and that "ships can move freely" while technical talks continue. Those two sources, as well as a third person familiar with the talks, confirmed that the meeting in Doha is scheduled for Tuesday.
Under the memorandum of understanding, Iran pledged to make every effort to ensure the safe passage of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz. In exchange, the US lifted its blockade of Iranian ports. At talks in Switzerland last week, the US delegation, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, agreed with Iran to open a "hotline" between the US military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to coordinate shipping through the strait.
However, by Saturday, such a channel for direct communication still did not exist, although Iran has again begun to insist that ships coordinate their passage through the Strait of Hormuz, "Axios" notes. The talks, originally scheduled for Tuesday, were to take place in Switzerland and be dedicated to Iran's nuclear program, a source familiar with their preparations said. However, the escalation of tensions forced them to be moved to Qatar and focus on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Nick Stewart, the head of the US technical team, is also expected to participate in the talks, a US official and another source familiar with the preparations for the meeting said. There has been no comment from the White House on the subject at the moment.
Iran did not participate in the technical negotiations scheduled for yesterday due to the attacks against the country in recent days and unfulfilled conditions of the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States.
This was stated to state television by Mehdi Fazaeili, a member of the Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of the Supreme Leader of Iran, quoted by Reuters.
"One of the reasons, for example, is to check whether we have access to the unfrozen funds. If there is no such access, it means that this condition has not been met," Fazaeili said.
The US military announced a day earlier that it had carried out strikes against Iran - just hours after a tanker flying a Panamanian flag was hit by an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran said it had retaliated by striking US targets in Kuwait and Bahrain.
The Israeli army has destroyed a vast tunnel belonging to the Shiite group "Hezbollah" in southern Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement.
It was specified that the tunnel, more than 200 meters long and more than 25 meters deep, contained hundreds of weapons, as well as several launch silos intended for attacks on Israel. The United States and the US representative in Lebanon were notified in advance of the operation.
It was carried out two days after Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement brokered by the United States in Washington, aimed at paving the way for peace between the two countries, which have been officially at war for decades, Agence France-Presse notes.