The United States and Iran have reportedly agreed to de-escalate tensions following several days of military exchanges that threatened to derail a recently signed ceasefire agreement.
According to a US official cited by CBS News, both countries have agreed to “stand down” after a series of attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The official said commercial vessels would once again be able to navigate the crucial waterway freely and confirmed that negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent settlement would continue.
The announcement comes amid renewed diplomatic efforts to salvage a fragile truce agreed on 17 June, when Washington and Tehran signed a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding that called for an immediate and permanent end to military operations. Under the agreement, Iran pledged to ensure the safe passage of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz without imposing charges for 60 days.
Despite the deal, tensions resurfaced after an Iranian projectile struck a cargo vessel in the strategic shipping lane on Thursday. The United States responded over the weekend with a series of strikes targeting Iranian positions, with US Central Command describing the operation as a direct response to continued threats against commercial shipping.
Iran then launched retaliatory strikes against US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain on Saturday. American officials said the attacks failed to reach their targets and caused no casualties or damage.
President Donald Trump announced that further discussions with Iran would take place in Doha, Qatar, claiming Tehran had requested the meeting.
“IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
However, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi denied reports that technical talks had been scheduled for this week, creating uncertainty over the exact nature of the planned discussions.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirmed that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would travel to Doha for high-level meetings concerning the memorandum of understanding and future negotiations.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most important maritime routes, carrying a significant portion of global oil and gas shipments. The waterway had effectively been shut down after hostilities between the US, Israel and Iran escalated at the end of February, causing concern across international energy markets.
The broader regional situation also remains tense. The United States recently helped broker a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon designed to create the conditions for lasting peace. However, fighting between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon has continued to threaten the stability of that agreement.
On Sunday, the Israeli military said it had destroyed a 200-metre-long Hezbollah tunnel in southern Lebanon that allegedly contained hundreds of weapons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that Washington had been informed before the operation was carried out.
Iran has maintained that an end to hostilities in Lebanon is essential if a wider regional ceasefire is to hold, highlighting the fragile nature of diplomatic efforts to prevent another major escalation in the Middle East.
