The United States and Iran have agreed to “stand down for now” after both sides exchanged strikes close to the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, a US official has said.
Iran launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday following US airstrikes against 10 Iranian military targets close to the essential waterway.
“Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely,” a US official said following the exchange, according to ITV’s North American partner CNN.
The US and Iran will meet in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday for more talks, another US official said, amid the fragile ceasefire between the two nations.
The crossfire started on Thursday, when Iran hit a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, causing the US to retaliate.
Both sides have accused each other of violating their delicate 14-point interim agreement, signed on June 17, which declared that the strait would be reopened for traffic.
A multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy said Saturday it would expand a route near Oman for inbound and outbound traffic.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday reiterated the claim the Islamic Republic must govern the strait to the Persian Gulf that once carried a fifth of the world’s oil.
“Any attempt to establish new or separate arrangements from those currently being carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran will only lead to further complications, delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and increase the level of tension,” Araghchi said.
The strait has long been considered an international waterway despite its location in Iran and Oman’s territorial waters.
Bahrain said the Iranian strikes damaged a residential building near the international airport, but no one was injured or killed.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry called the incident “a dangerous escalation that reveals that what Tehran is doing is not a passing act, nor an isolated incident, but rather a deliberate approach and a systematic pattern of repeated aggression”.
Qatar said a civilian had been killed, and another person was hurt by shrapnel related to “military operations in the area” after a vessel didn’t return at its scheduled time on Saturday, but did not give further details.
US President Donald Trump accused Iran of violating the nations’ deal and warned of a point where the US may “be forced to militarily complete the job” on Truth Social.
“If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” Trump wrote.
Talks between the US and Iran include arrangements around the strait, the removal of a US blockade on Iranian ports and sanctions on Iran, and the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
The two sides have 60 days from their signing of the memorandum of understanding earlier this month to work out details.
Continued conflict in Lebanon threatens the agreement, which says fighting must end on all fronts before certain issues can be discussed.
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