Iran and US agree to halt attacks and renew talks

Iran and the United States have agreed to pause recent hostilities and resume talks on their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, according to a U.S. official, in a move that could help preserve a fragile interim peace deal. The reported breakthrough follows days of strikes and counterstrikes that have raised fears of a wider regional conflict.

The official said technical talks would continue on all parts of the memorandum of understanding, while both sides would stand down for now and allow vessels to move freely through the strait. That 14-point agreement, reached on June 17, was intended to reopen the strategic waterway to shipping and create space for broader negotiations.

Axios first reported the halt in fighting, citing a senior U.S. official, and said the next round of talks would take place in Qatar on Tuesday. A return to diplomacy would mark a significant shift after renewed violence that erupted when an Iranian projectile hit a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.

The United States and Iran have accused each other of violating the interim ceasefire agreed earlier this month. The latest escalation has centered on attacks in and around the Gulf, where the Strait of Hormuz remains the world’s most important route for energy shipments. Tehran has largely closed the waterway for much of the conflict, deepening concerns over global oil and gas supplies.

On Sunday, Iran fired missiles and drones at U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain shortly after President Donald Trump warned that the Islamic Republic would “cease to exist” if it failed to honour the agreement to end the war. Before the Axios report, Trump had also said Washington might be forced to “militarily complete the job” if Iran did not back down.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its navy and air forces had targeted American military sites in the two Gulf states. The IRGC claimed U.S. strikes had broken the ceasefire and warned that the diplomatic process could collapse entirely. State media quoted the group as saying American bases in the region would “experience hell” in the coming days.

U.S. officials said there were no reported American casualties or major damage to its facilities in the Middle East, although the situation remained fluid. In Kuwait, the army said its air defenses intercepted two ballistic missiles without damage or casualties. In Bahrain, authorities said sirens sounded and an Iranian attack damaged a residential building in Muharraq province, though no one was hurt there.

The violence also appeared to affect the wider region. Qatar said one of its nationals died after being injured by shrapnel aboard a vessel that had gone missing on Saturday, while a second person was wounded in the same incident. The interior ministry said the damage was linked to military operations in the area.

The renewed tension has also spilled into Lebanon, where Israel said it again struck Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, destroying underground infrastructure in southern Lebanon. That followed another strike on Saturday, shortly after Israel’s latest ceasefire deal with Lebanon on Friday. Iran has said the fighting in Lebanon must end if the wider agreement is to hold.

The latest reported halt to hostilities offers a narrow opening for diplomacy, but the situation remains unstable. With attacks continuing across multiple fronts and both sides trading blame, the fate of the ceasefire will likely depend on whether the upcoming talks can restore trust and keep the Strait of Hormuz open.