U.S. and Iran will ‘stand down’ after strikes and resume talks, official says

The U.S. official said attacks would stop "for now." Iran hasn’t publicly confirmed the agreement and insisted that it had a right to full control of the Strait of Hormuz, The Washington Post writes.

An American official says the United States and Iran will “stand down for now” after days of strikes tested the fragile ceasefire agreement signed this month and raised questions about the state of talks to reach a broader peace.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Sunday that both sides were set to continue talks on “all areas” of the memorandum of understanding that the U.S. and Iran signed this month, and that “vessels can move freely.”

Iran hasn’t publicly confirmed that plan and insisted Sunday that it had a right to full control of the Strait of Hormuz, brushing aside President Donald Trump’s threats to “complete the job” of the war he launched four months ago if Tehran did not relent on the waterway.

At the heart of the ceasefire deal reached this month was an agreement to allow safe passage of vessels through the strait, which Trump hopes will relieve strains on the U.S. economy after its closure spiked prices for energy and other goods.

The two countries accuse each other of violating the agreement, which calls for an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts” and for all parties “to refrain from the threat or use of force.”

The war sharply curtailed shipments of goods such as oil and fertilizer, driving up costs for gasoline, food and other items. While oil prices eased after the signing of the framework agreement, a full-scale renewal of hostilities could cause them to rise again.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that the “management and full reopening” of the Strait of Hormuz is Iran’s responsibility. Ask The Post AIDive deeper

“Any intervention or attempt to create arrangements contrary to the existing understandings will only complicate the situation, delay the return of normalcy to the Strait of Hormuz, and increase tension,” he said at a news conference with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad. Araghchi said Iran is working on reopening the strait so that it reaches prewar capacity within 30 days — a timeline in keeping with the memorandum of understanding.

Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the Iranian regime is “sadly mistaken” if it “thinks for a second that President Trump is going to sit by, stand by, while Iran continues to attack international shipping without a response.”

“They saw that loud and clear over the last few nights,” Waltz told Fox News on Sunday.

Iran and the U.S. differ on whether the memorandum of understanding they signed gives Iran the ability to control which vessels can cross the strait and when.

The agreement also calls for 60 days of negotiations between the two sides with the aim of reaching a broader peace deal that would address Washington’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.

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