The United States and Iran have agreed to halt their mutual strikes and ensure the free passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Axios, The Hill and Reuters, citing sources within the US administration.
A senior US official said the two sides had decided to stop all “kinetic” activity. Technical talks on all provisions of the memorandum of understanding will continue, and for now Washington and Tehran will refrain from further action, vessels will be able to move freely through the strait. According to Axios, the meeting is set for 30 June in the Qatari capital, Doha; the round had originally been planned for Switzerland and focused on Iran’s nuclear programme, but the escalation prompted a change of venue and a shift in focus to the situation around the Strait of Hormuz.
The pause comes against a backdrop of sharp escalation. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had struck Iranian military targets in response to continued aggression against commercial shipping. The immediate trigger was an Iranian drone attack on a Panama-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. In response, Iran launched missiles and drones at US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain. Kuwait said its air defences had intercepted two ballistic missiles, with no casualties or damage; Bahrain reported damage to a residential building but no injuries. Trump again accused Tehran of violating the ceasefire agreement.
The arrangements rest on the memorandum of understanding signed on 17 June by Trump following the G7 summit and by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran. The document provides for a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, for 60 days, the start of negotiations to end the war, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. On 18 June, the US military lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports; since then, however, several incidents involving drone strikes on vessels have occurred in the strait.
The truce remains fragile. The two sides interpret the memorandum’s provisions differently, particularly those concerning the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran maintains that the document makes it responsible for reopening the strait, whereas the memorandum calls for consultations with Oman and other Gulf littoral states; Washington backs an alternative shipping route near the Omani coast. Iran also asserts control over the strait and warns that any attempt to bypass its preferred route would increase tensions in the region.
The stakes are high: before the war, around one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Beyond the shipping question, Iran’s nuclear programme and tensions over Lebanon remain unresolved and it is precisely these issues that will be on the agenda at the upcoming Doha talks.
