Washington, June 29: According to a report by Axios, the United States and Iran have agreed to halt mutual attacks for now and will engage in talks in Doha, Qatar, to resolve their dispute over the Hormuz Strait.
An American official stated that both parties will step back temporarily, allowing ships to move freely as technical discussions continue.
Initially, the talks were scheduled to take place in Switzerland, focusing primarily on Iran’s nuclear program. However, rising tensions in the Hormuz Strait prompted a shift to Doha, increasing the emphasis on shipping security in this strategic maritime route.
During discussions in Switzerland a week ago, the U.S. delegation and Iran agreed to establish a hotline to coordinate traffic between the U.S. military and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait.
However, reports indicate that the hotline was still not operational by Saturday. The U.S. conducted airstrikes on Iranian positions on Friday and Saturday, citing ongoing Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Hormuz Strait. Iran retaliated by targeting U.S. military bases in the region.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that Iran violated the ceasefire agreement by attacking a commercial oil tanker near the Hormuz Strait. In response, the U.S. launched fresh airstrikes on several Iranian military sites. Trump issued a stern warning to Iran, stating that if such attacks continued, the existence of the Islamic Republic would be at risk.
Iran reportedly conducted a unilateral drone strike targeting the Panama-flagged tanker M/T Kiku at around 4:30 AM ET. Following this, the U.S. struck Iranian military facilities. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that these strikes were ordered by the President.
The tanker was passing through the Hormuz Strait, carrying over two million barrels of crude oil. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump wrote, “U.S. aircraft have just attacked Iranian missile and drone storage sites, as well as coastal radar sites, for violating the ceasefire agreement, again! It’s very possible they will never learn!”
He added, “There may come a time when we cannot act wisely, and we will be forced to use military action to finish what we have started successfully. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will cease to exist!”
U.S. military command stated that Iran was given a chance to adhere to the ceasefire following the U.S. attacks in response to the assault on M/V Ever Lovely.
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