US, Iran agree to halt strikes amid reports of fresh talks

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday ‌that, ⁠after ⁠an agreement with the US lifted oil ​and petrochemical ​sanctions, $6 ‌billion out of $12 billion of assets ‌frozen in Qatar ‌would ​be released and returned to Iran, Iranian ​state media reported.

Iran and the ⁠United ​States ​signed an interim ​agreement this month ‌to prepare the ​ground ⁠for a settlement ⁠of ​their conflict.

Iran and Oman held a first meeting of the Hormuz Joint Committee in Muscat on Monday, according to Iranian ‌deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi.

Gharibabadi said on X that he met with Oman’s Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Al-Hinai to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Oman and Iran.

“While reviewing current issues related to the Strait, we exchanged views on the future management of the Strait within the framework of paragraph five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understandingand the sovereign rights of the coastal states,” he wrote, alluding to the interim peace agreement signed with the United States earlier this month.

Iran and Oman are working out the details on how the vital waterway, through which around 20% of the world’s oil usually flows, will be governed.

Indian seafarers pay the price in US-Iran war

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The US and Iran are slated to meet in Doha on Tuesday for talks, media reports say, though Iran’s position on the matter is not clear yet.

The talks were initially supposed to take place in Switzerland and focus on Iran’s nuclear program, according to news site Axios, but were moved to Qatar to focus on the Strait of Hormuz following a recent escalation.

The US-Iran interim peace agreement, signed on June 17, has come under strain following tit-for-tat military strikes between the two countries.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump warned in a post on Truth Social that “the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist” if a point is reached where he decides the US will no longer be “reasonable,” highlighting the fragile nature of the peace agreement.

On Friday, the US accused Iran of attacking a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, jeopardizing a ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

In response, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced fresh strikes on Iran. CENTCOM said on Sunday that US fighter jets had struck 10 Iranian military targets.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused the US of a “blatant violation” of the peace agreement between the two countries, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted US military facilities in retaliation for Friday’s strikes.

Iran then launched drone and missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait in response to US airstrikes.

Fighting in Lebanon threatens deal

Meanwhile,Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement in Washington on Friday after several days of talks, a move welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Sunday, Lebanese state media reported that Israel carried out an airstrike targeting southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army said it destroyed an extensive tunnel in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

The Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has rejected the agreement as “null and void.”

The United States and Iran have agreed to halt attacks and resume technical talks after a weekend of tit-for-tat strikes threatened an interim peace deal, a US official said late on Sunday.

“Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MOU,” a US official told reporters, referring to the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran.

“Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely” in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the official said.

Delegates from Washington and Tehran are set to meet on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, according to US news site Axios.

Despite an April ceasefire, the two sides have continued to exchange attacks, threatening the flow of traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

On Sunday, US Central Command said it had struck 10 Iranian military targets over “continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.”

Here are the latest updates regarding the Iran war and wider Middle East.

Late Sunday, the United States and Iran agreed to halt attacks on each other and resume talks aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East, a US official announced.

Over the weekend, the US military said it had struck 10 Iranian military targets over “continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.”

This comes even as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressed the importance of retaining control over the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to state media.

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