After three days of renewed fighting that pushed their fragile peace deal to the brink, the US and Iran have agreed to halt strikes and will meet in Qatar on Tuesday to resolve a bitter row over the Strait of Hormuz.
The agreement came as Iranian ballistic missiles struck US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain on Sunday, with a top-floor flat in the Bahraini town of Muharraq reduced to rubble. Officials said there were no injuries. Bahrain’s foreign ministry condemned the “continued attacks, at a time when regional and international efforts are moving toward de-escalation”.
“US and Iran agree to halt strikes and meet in Qatar after three days of renewed conflict over the Strait of Hormuz.”
The strikes were the latest in a burst of conflict that began when an Iranian drone hit a Singapore-flagged cargo ship in the strait on Thursday. Washington and Tehran then traded retaliatory attacks that spread to the Gulf states.
A senior US official told Axios: “We decided to stop all the kinetic activity.” Another said both sides would stand down “for now” and that “vessels can move freely”. The planned talks in Switzerland have stalled due to the attacks, with an Iranian official telling state TV that Tehran did not participate in technical talks set for Sunday “due to recent attacks and unfulfilled conditions”.
At the heart of the crisis is control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil flows. Iran has demanded that ships pass through a corridor close to its coastline, but dozens of vessels have instead sailed along the opposite side near Oman. Iran’s top diplomat warned that any attempt to bypass its preferred route would “increase tensions” across the Middle East, with the issue threatening to drag out the months-long war.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared on Sunday that it was taking control of shipping in the waterway and that vessels violating its conditions would be dealt with “more forcefully” than before.
The interim ceasefire, signed on June 17, now hangs by a thread. The US and Iran will meet in Doha on Tuesday to try to find a solution.