US, Iran agree to halt attacks, renew talks in bid to save fragile peace deal

WASHINGTON: The United States and Iran have agreed to halt recent hostilities in the Gulf and renew talks over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official said Sunday, in a move that could salvage a teetering interim peace accord.

The agreement comes after days of tit-for-tat strikes that threatened to unravel a Pakistan-brokered deal that has halted a conflict that killed thousands and disrupted oil shipments through the vital waterway. The exchanges have underscored the fragility of the 14-point memorandum of understanding signed June 17 to reopen the strait to traffic.

“Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MOU. Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely,” the U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Axios, which first reported the cessation of hostilities, citing a senior U.S. official, said talks would resume Tuesday in Qatar. Iran has not immediately commented on the U.S. statement.

The return to diplomacy follows several days of escalating strikes. An Iranian projectile hit a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, with both nations accusing the other of breaking the June 17 ceasefire.

In the early hours Sunday, Iran launched missiles and drones at U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain, shortly after President Donald Trump warned on social media that the Islamic Republic “will cease to exist” if it did not honor the peace agreement.

“There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” Trump posted before the Axios report. “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”

Kuwait’s army said its air defenses intercepted two ballistic missiles with no damage or casualties, while Bahrain reported sirens and an attack that damaged a residential building in Muharraq province with no casualties. Bahrain urged the U.N. Security Council to hold an urgent session.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its navy and air forces launched operations targeting U.S. sites, state-run Press TV reported. The Guards said U.S. strikes violated the ceasefire and “will result in the complete halt of all diplomatic processes,” Press TV reported.

The U.S. military had struck Iran earlier Sunday, hours after a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has largely closed for most of the conflict.

Separately, Israel said Sunday it struck Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, destroying underground infrastructure in a southern Lebanese village. The strike came a day after another attack that closely followed Israel’s latest ceasefire deal with Lebanon on Friday. Iran maintains fighting in Lebanon must end if the wider agreement is to hold.

The 14-point interim accord, which the U.S. and Israel began on Feb. 28, was designed to halt fighting and reopen the strait while talks proceed on issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.

One round of mediated talks, led by Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, was held in Switzerland a week ago, and Washington waived sanctions on Tehran, but fighting resumed and intensified.

Qatar said one of its nationals died from shrapnel injuries aboard a vessel that went missing Saturday, and a second person was injured in an incident the interior ministry attributed to “military operations in the area,” without specifying a location or assigning blame.