Iran Denies Resuming US Talks Amid Ongoing Strait of Hormuz Tensions and Military Strikes

Iran has rejected reports of renewed negotiations with the United States scheduled for Tuesday in Doha aimed at resolving disputes over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told the Tasnim news agency that technical working group meetings are not planned for this week and will only occur once Iran's conditions for an agreement are met. Consultations continue through intermediary countries.

The Axios report followed two consecutive nights of US military strikes in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's announcement of freezing talks. A senior US official confirmed that both sides agreed to cease attacks and allow free navigation through the strait, with professional-level talks expected to continue regarding a memorandum of understanding, though details on timing or location remain undisclosed.

Iranian state media cited President Masoud Pezeshkian announcing an agreement to unfreeze $6 billion of $12 billion in Iranian assets frozen in Qatar as part of sanctions relief on the oil and petrochemical sectors. Meanwhile, US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that US forces struck 10 Iranian military targets under President Donald Trump's orders in response to "ongoing Iranian aggression against commercial vessels." Iran retaliated by attacking US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, with no casualties reported.

Following the strikes, Trump warned on his social media platform Truth Social that US military aircraft targeted Iranian missile storage, drones, and coastal radar sites for violating the ceasefire agreement. He threatened that Iran might cease to exist if the US is forced to complete its military actions.

CENTCOM noted Iran ignored a chance to honor the ceasefire after launching a one-way drone that hit the Panama-flagged tanker M/T Kiku carrying over two million barrels of crude oil near the Strait of Hormuz. The dispute also involves differing interpretations of the memorandum of understanding: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed Iran has exclusive responsibility for managing traffic through the strait, a claim the US rejects, insisting the agreement does not grant Iran control and that international navigation must continue unhindered.

The agreement requires Iran to ensure safe passage and remove military obstacles immediately, but recent days have seen escalations, including Iranian attacks on a ship near Oman's coast and US retaliatory strikes on Iranian communications, drone, and missile sites along the strait. Iran accused Washington of violating the agreement and vowed harsher responses to any vessels violating its directives in the Strait of Hormuz, with Revolutionary Guards threatening US bases in the region with severe consequences.