The United States and Iran have reportedly agreed to stop attacking each other as both countries prepare to meet Tuesday in Doha to address their disagreement over the Strait of Hormuz, a senior US official said.
"We decided to stop all the kinetic activity," Axios report said citing a senior US official. The Tuesday talks were originally scheduled to take place in Switzerland to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, the report added. The recent escalation changed the meeting location and shifted the focus to the Strait of Hormuz.
The ceasefire, which began 11 days ago, faces challenges after both sides conducted new strikes and President Trump threatened to restart the war and "complete the job."
The renewed fighting started due to different interpretations of the memorandum of understanding that ended the war, particularly regarding terms related to the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald Trump earlier said that American forces carried out fresh strikes on Iranian missile and drone storage sites as well as coastal radar installations after accusing Tehran of violating the ceasefire agreement for a second time.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the strikes were launched after Iran again breached the ceasefire. "United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!" he wrote.
Trump also warned that if violations continue, "there may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable," adding that the U.S. could be "forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started."
The United States launched another round of strikes against targets in Iran on Saturday after Tehran allegedly carried out a second drone attack on a commercial vessel despite a ceasefire agreement, according to U.S. Central Command.
Iranian state media reported explosions in the port cities of Sirik and Bandar Lengeh, as well as on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf, after projectiles struck the areas. The three locations are home to military facilities, according to state media.
U.S. Central Command issued a statement saying, "CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping."
CENTCOM added: "After yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning."
Iran launched a drone attack targeting Bahrain on Saturday, while a tanker was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Britain’s UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), in what appeared to be Tehran’s response to overnight U.S. airstrikes.
The incidents mark a renewed escalation in the Persian Gulf, raising concerns that the conflict could spiral despite an interim agreement between Iran and the United States aimed at reaching a broader peace deal.
The U.S. strikes followed an Iranian drone attack on a commercial vessel attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, extending a series of tit-for-tat actions that have strained the fragile ceasefire.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Friday that it carried out strikes against Iranian military targets on Friday in response to what it described as Iran’s attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier.
The operation targeted Iranian missile and drone storage sites as well as coastal radar installations and concluded about an hour after it began, according to U.S. officials.
The attacks marked the most significant escalation since the ceasefire was announced. Washington said the operation was calibrated to protect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz while preserving room for diplomacy.
Iran, meanwhile, said it had struck targets linked to U.S. forces in response to the American airstrikes, which it said violated the U.N. Charter and the war-ending memorandum between the two countries. In a statement, Iran’s foreign ministry did not identify the targets or disclose where they were located.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said the country was targeted by "a number of Iranian drones," describing the attack as "a flagrant threat to the security of citizens and residents."
The exchange came as QatarEnergy-chartered LNG tanker Umm Slal became the latest vessel to reverse course near the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting renewed concerns over energy shipments through the critical waterway.
President Donald Trump earlier on Friday said Iran shot at least four drones at ships transiting the critical Strait of Hormuz and hit one cargo vessel, in what he called a "foolish violation" of the ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz. One of the Drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship. Damage was done, but the Ship was able to proceed on its way. We knocked down three other Drones," Trump posted on his Truth Social service.
The attack led to a pause in an evacuation process through the strait overseen by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The United Nations body had earlier this week on Tuesday said it would start a coordinated large-scale evacuation of over 11,000 seafarers on stranded ships in the vital waterway in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, coastal Gulf countries, and the U.S.
According to CENTCOM, U.S. aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage facilities as well as coastal radar sites after Iran allegedly used a one-way attack drone to hit the M/V Ever Lovely, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship, on June 25 while it was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast.
The IMO on Thursday said it had halted the plan after the attack on the ship near Oman. As per the IMO, the vessel did not transit under the UN body’s evacuation framework. The WSJ report said that Iran’s IRGC had warned that any attempt to cross the Strait of Hormuz along the IMO’s designated route would be "unacceptable and completely dangerous."
Iranian state media reported that Revolutionary Guard forces had fired "warning shots" at ships using routes not approved by Tehran, prompting more vessels to seek Iranian authorization before transiting the strait. Tehran has sought to direct shipping through routes under its control, while Washington has backed an alternative corridor along Oman’s coastline.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance later urged Iran to resolve any disputes through diplomacy, saying Washington had honored the ceasefire agreement. "If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence," Vance wrote on X.
The latest escalation unfolded over the weekend while financial markets were closed, leaving investors to gauge its impact on oil prices and global risk sentiment when trading resumes on Monday.
Source: Investing