U.S. seeks Iranian pledge to free up Strait of Hormuz
By Steve Holland and Enas Alashray
WASHINGTON/CAIRO, July 11 (Reuters) – Iran’s foreign minister arrived in Oman on Saturday to discuss arrangements for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said, with Washington seeking a public pledge of free, secure transit.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday the U.S. and Iran had agreed to continue talks despite an escalation of hostilities this week, while also declaring an end to the ceasefire reached between the two sides. No attacks were reported on Friday or early Saturday, however.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Saturday that Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had arrived in Oman. The country is helping to mediate an end to a war that has spread insecurity in the Gulf and raised prices around the world since the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28.
CBS News and its UK partner the BBC both reported that U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to lead negotiations on Saturday with Araqchi.
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the reports, which did not say whether they would be in Oman or attend virtually.Iran’s Fars news agency later cited a source saying no negotiations would take place until the U.S. retreated from its positions.
IRAN SAYS U.S. HAS VIOLATED THE INTERIM AGREEMENT
Araqchi accused the United States of violating the ceasefire agreement; the U.S. revoked the license authorizing the sale of Iranian crude on Tuesday after the vessels were hit.
“There can only be mutual compliance,” he wrote on X.
Three Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers came under fire earlier in the week, prompting the U.S. to hit Iranian sites, and Iran to respond with strikes on U.S. military sites in Gulf states.
While Iran has not claimed responsibility for the ship attacks, analysts say Tehran uses such actions to gain leverage in negotiations.
Senior U.S. officials told reporters on Friday that Iran had informed U.S. officials that recent attacks on shipping in the strait were from an “errant part of their system”, comments that appeared to be aimed at calming tensions.
The flareup cast further doubt over the future of an interim agreement aimed at ending the conflict and pushed oil prices higher, a politically sensitive issue for Trump ahead of November congressional elections.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
Iran disputed Trump’s interpretation, saying it had not requested talks with the U.S. but had agreed to host a Qatari mediator, state television reported. Qatari negotiators met officials in Iran on Friday to de-escalate tensions and discuss the Strait of Hormuz, a person with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
Trump also posted that he had ordered the U.S. military to be prepared to launch strikes against Iran if Tehran carried out or attempted an assassination of the president.
“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!,” he posted.
The Wall Street Journal and other U.S. media reported this week that Israel had shared intelligence with Washington that Iran had recently devised a plan to assassinate Trump.
There was no immediate comment from Iran on Trump’s latest remarks.
At the funeral of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday, a huge crowd of mourners packed a courtyard, some bearing banners reading, “We Will Kill Trump.” Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war.
US OFFICIALS REPORT CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH IRAN
The United States is demanding that Iran publicly state it will stop attacks on ships in the strait – and that all lanes will be open with no tolls through the waterway that carried one-fifth of global oil supplies before the war, the senior U.S. officials told reporters on Friday.
During the war Tehran has largely taken control of the strait, forcing a stalemate in its confrontation with the world’s most powerful military.
At least 17 people were killed in U.S. strikes on six cities in Iran on Wednesday and Thursday, the head of the public relations and information center at Iran’s Health Ministry said. He said 115 people were wounded.
Even so, U.S. officials said conversations between the two countries had been productive in recent days.
Tehran said any breach of commitments by Washington would be met with “reciprocal action,” the foreign ministry spokesperson said, according to state media.
Last month’s interim deal was meant to pave the way to the end of a conflict now in its fifth month, which has killed thousands, throttled worldwide energy supplies and raised fears of a global economic downturn.
Renewed fighting in the Gulf has increased the pain for U.S. consumers. After weeks of steady declines, crude oil prices posted their biggest weekly rise in eight weeks.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Enas Alashray in Cairo; Additional reporting by Menna Alaa El Din in Cairo, Ahmed Elimam and Eman Abouhassira in Dubai, Andrew Mills in Doha and Jonathan Saul in London; Writing by Daniel Trotta, Kim Coghill, Tom Perry; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani, William Mallard and Philippa Fletcher)
