Iran and US agree to halt attacks and renew talks: Report

DUBAI/WASHINGTON: Iran and the United States have reportedly reached an agreement to cease recent hostilities in the Gulf and recommence talks concerning their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, according to Axios. This development could potentially end a series of retaliatory strikes that had jeopardized an interim peace accord.

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There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started.

The two nations are slated to meet on Tuesday in Qatar, Axios reported, citing a senior US official. The White House has not yet responded to requests for comment. A return to diplomatic channels would follow several days of escalating strikes and counterstrikes. These actions were triggered after an Iranian projectile struck a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz last Thursday. Both the US and Iran accused each other of violating an interim ceasefire agreed upon on June 17.

Earlier on Sunday, Iran launched missiles and drones at US military installations in Kuwait and Bahrain. This occurred shortly after President Donald Trump issued a threat to eliminate the Iranian leadership if they did not adhere to the agreement to end their conflict. Meanwhile, Israel announced on Sunday that it had again targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, destroying underground infrastructure in a village in southern Lebanon. This followed another strike on Saturday, which closely preceded its latest ceasefire deal with Lebanon aimed at calming fighting that Iran insists must cease for the broader agreement to hold.

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If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!

The US military stated it had struck Iran again hours after a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy shipping route that Tehran had largely blockaded throughout the conflict. President Trump had previously warned on social media, "There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started." He added, "If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!" The 14-point interim peace accord was intended to halt hostilities, initiated by the US and Israel on February 28, and to reopen the strait while negotiations proceeded on issues including Iran's nuclear program. In a further indication of the agreement's fragility, Iran canceled technical talks with the US scheduled for Sunday, citing recent attacks and unfulfilled conditions of the Memorandum of Understanding. Mehdi Fazaeili, a member of the Office of Preservation and Publication of the Works of Iran’s Supreme Leader, told state TV that one reason for the cancellation was to verify access to unfrozen funds.

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For example one of the reasons is checking if we have access to the unfrozen funds, if there is no access then this condition has not been fulfilled.