The US and Iran have agreed to halt attacks against each other and hold high-level talks in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday to resolve their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, in a renewed effort to preserve their fragile peace agreement after days of escalating military exchanges threatened to undermine the breakthrough, according to a senior US official.
The development comes just 11 days after Washington and Tehran announced an interim agreement to end their months-long standoff. However, the fragile ceasefire is on shaky ground with US President Donald Trump’s threat to restart the war and ‘finish the job’ if Iran does not comply.
Doha talks on Tuesday
According to Axios, Washington and Tehran have agreed to suspend all ‘kinetic activity’. “We decided to stop all the kinetic activity,” a senior US official told Axios, using the military’s term for strikes and other attacks.
Another official told Axios that both sides will stand down “for now” and that “vessels can move freely” as technical talks are set to continue.
Both US officials and a third source with knowledge confirmed Tuesday’s planned meeting.
The Tuesday meeting was initially planned to happen in Switzerland to address Iran’s nuclear program. However, after fresh military exchanges over the weekend, diplomats shifted the venue to Doha and narrowed the agenda to resolving disputes surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.
Nick Stewart, who heads the USย technical team, is expected to participate in the talks. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran has exclusive right to manage traffic in Hormuzย
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday (local time) that Iran has the exclusive right to manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz under the preliminary peace deal, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The United States and Iran are still debating the terms of an interim peace deal, including shipping arrangements through the strait, removing a US blockade and sanctions and addressing the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.ย
ย Under the memorandum of understanding signed earlier this month, Iran committed to making its best efforts to ensure the safe passage of commercial shipping through the strategic waterway. In return, the United States agreed to lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
To prevent future confrontations, negotiators meeting in Switzerland last week also agreed to establish a direct military “hotline” between US forces and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to coordinate maritime traffic through the strait.
However, Tehran has since renewed its demand that all vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz coordinate directly with Iranian authorities, a position Washington believes goes beyond the original understanding reached during the negotiations.
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