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The US and Iran have agreed to bury the hatchet, according to a senior US official, as both plan to meet Tuesday in Doha to work out their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported.
"We decided to stop all the kinetic activity," a senior US official told Axios, using the military's term for strikes and other attacks. Another official told Axios that both sides will stand down "for now" and that "vessels can move freely" as technical talks are set to continue. Both US officials and a third source with knowledge confirmed Tuesday's planned meeting. The fragile ceasefire, which is just 11 days old, is on shaky ground with US President Donald Trump's threat to re-start the war and 'finish the job' if Iran did not comply. Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday (local time) that Iran has the exclusive right to manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz under the preliminary peace deal, the Wall Street Journal reported. They are at odds with American arguments that the deal doesn't give Iran control and that navigation must be unimpeded in the international waterway. Tehran's assertion of authority followed days of tit-for-tat strikes with the US that began when Iran attacked a ship trying to cross the strait by hugging the coast of Oman. Tehran, which wants ships to follow a separate course along its coastline, had warned ships against using that alternative route. As per the Wall Street Journal, the deal signed by Trump earlier in June assigns responsibility for opening the strait to Iran. It says "the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels" and that Iran, in consultation with others in the region, will determine the terms for the future of administration and maritime services of the strait. (ANI)
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