US President Donald Trump said the US government had agreed to Iran’s request to continue negotiations as the war between the two countries continues.
Still, in a social media post on Friday, he reiterated his view that the June 17 ceasefire has ended.
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“The Islamic Republic of Iran has called for continued ‘dialogue’,” President Trump wrote on his Truth social account.
“We agreed to do so, but the US told them in no uncertain terms that the ceasefire was over!”
Iran did not immediately confirm that it had received a request to continue negotiations. The two countries have repeatedly offered different explanations for the deal throughout the US and Israel’s war against Iran, which began on February 28th.
President Trump’s latest statement comes as the two countries have exchanged two days of attacks over commercial traffic transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States and Iran exchanged similar attacks in late June after President Trump accused Tehran of violating a ceasefire by firing a drone at a container ship.
Since Tuesday, the United States has targeted about 170 targets inside Iran, according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East. Iran retaliated by targeting U.S. assets across the region.
This week’s gunfight is the biggest threat yet to the June 17 memorandum of understanding (MoU) that called for an immediate cessation of fighting on all fronts, an end to the U.S. naval blockade against Iran, and an opening of the straits.
In Friday’s post, Trump did not say whether the talks he mentioned would include new efforts to end the fighting or focus on issues that are expected to be addressed within 60 days of the signing of the memorandum of understanding.
These issues include the future of Iran’s nuclear program, unfreezing Iranian assets, and future control of the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump said earlier this week that the United States was not seeking a return to full-scale war with Iran, even as he threatened to attack Iran’s oil and water infrastructure, “seize” Iran’s Kharg Island, and reinstate the U.S. naval blockade.
Qatari officials reportedly to visit Iran
On Friday, Qatari officials were visiting Iran to “de-escalate tensions and create conditions for continuing some kind of broader negotiations in Qatar or Pakistan,” Al Jazeera correspondent Victoria Gatenby reported from Doha, Qatar.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said in a post on social media platform
Both the United States and Iran had accused the other country of violating a June memorandum of understanding prior to the latest escalation.
Iranian officials argued that the memo allows Iran to assert influence over how ships transit the Strait of Hormuz, thus justifying attacks on ships that do not comply.
The United States maintains a deal that requires Iran to allow free passage.
Still, both Washington and Iran have incentives to return to diplomacy. The war is politically unpopular in the United States and threatens to weaken President Trump’s Republican Party in November’s midterm elections.
Iran’s already struggling economy has also been hurt by the war, increasing the government’s incentive to use frozen funds to get sanctions lifted.
Military analyst Alex Alfilaz Scheers told Al Jazeera that any talks would “bring little fruit” unless some kind of trust can be restored.
“I think in many ways they’re almost symbolic,” he said. “Until there is real momentum around trust-building and confidence-building, these talks are unlikely to lead anywhere in the current context.”
