The United States and Iran have agreed to pause mutual attacks “for now” and hold talks on Tuesday in Doha, the capital of Qatar, to work out their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, US media outlet Axios reported on Sunday.
The two sides will stand down “for now” and “vessels can move freely” as technical talks are set to continue, a US official was quoted as saying.
The Tuesday talks were originally set to be held in Switzerland and focused on Iran’s nuclear programme. However, renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz prompted the talks to be moved to Doha, shifting the focus to shipping security in the strategic waterway.
Iran did not take part in technical talks slated for Sunday due to recent attacks on the country and unfulfilled conditions of the memorandum of understanding with the United States. This is according to a member of the Office of Preservation and Publication of the Works of Iran’s Supreme Leader, who spoke to Iranian state TV on Sunday.
‘Iranian aggression against commercial shipping’
The United States conducted strikes on Iranian targets on Friday and Saturday, citing “continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by striking US military positions in the region.
During negotiations in Switzerland a week ago, the US delegation agreed with Iran to establish a hotline between the US military and Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps to coordinate traffic in the strait.
However, as of Saturday, the hotline still wasn’t operational, according to the report.
Hezbollah opposes Lebanon-Israel framework agreement
The Israeli army detonated a tunnel in the southern Lebanese town of Majdal Zoun on Sunday, with the blast heard across wide areas, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
According to a joint statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, the underground tunnel contained hundreds of weapons and several launch shafts allegedly intended to strike Israeli territory.
The statement noted that Israel had informed the United States in advance of the destruction.
“Israeli military soldiers will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon and will continue to destroy terrorist infrastructure, remove threats from northern Israeli communities and maintain the security of Israeli citizens,” it said.
Incidents occur despite framework agreement
The latest incidents occurred amid continued Israeli military activity in southern Lebanon despite the framework agreement reached on Friday between the United States, Israel and Lebanon.
The agreement includes a partial Israeli withdrawal from two areas in southern Lebanon and is intended to pave the way toward a lasting peace between the two countries.
Mahmoud Qomati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s Political Council, told Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed TV on Sunday that Hezbollah would oppose the recently signed Lebanon-Israel framework agreement and work to defeat it politically and practically, calling for an unconditional Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Qomati said Hezbollah supports the deployment of the Lebanese army to every point along the Lebanese border following a full Israeli withdrawal but stressed that such a deployment or the start of withdrawal measures should not be interpreted as acceptance of the agreement.
- The US and Iran have agreed to pause mutual attacks "for now" and will hold talks on Tuesday in Doha to address disputes over the Strait of Hormuz and shipping security.
- Originally scheduled for Switzerland focusing on Iran's nuclear program, the talks were moved to Qatar due to recent tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Iran did not participate in technical talks on Sunday, citing recent attacks against it and unmet terms of a prior memorandum with the US.
- The US conducted strikes on Iranian targets over "Iranian aggression against commercial shipping," while Iran retaliated against US military positions; a planned hotline between US and Iranian forces remains non-operational.
- Meanwhile, Israel destroyed a tunnel near southern Lebanon allegedly intended for attacks, sparking opposition from Hezbollah against a new US-brokered Lebanon-Israel framework agreement, which Hezbollah seeks to politically and practically defeat.
