“Both sides will refrain from taking further measures for the time being,” the dpa news agency learned from informed circles in Washington.Image: www.imago-images.de
June 29, 2026, 05:01June 29, 2026, 05:01
According to US information, the USA and Iran want to stop their mutual attacks in the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz for the time being and continue to negotiate. “Both sides will refrain from taking further measures for the time being,” the dpa news agency learned from informed circles in Washington. Ships could move freely while technical discussions on the implementation of the framework agreement are to continue. They are planned for the coming days, a senior official said. In addition, the channels for conflict avoidance are set up and functioning.
According to information from the US portal Axios, both sides want to meet this Tuesday in Qatar’s capital Doha to resolve their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz. There was initially no official confirmation of this. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently announced technical talks for this Monday or Tuesday, which should take place again in Switzerland. It was expected that it would be about Iran’s nuclear program. However, due to the recent escalation, the talks were postponed and the focus was placed on the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported.
Continued dispute over Strait of Hormuz
In recent days there have been renewed attacks by the US military in Iran following attacks on ships in the strait that Washington attributed to Tehran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, in turn, attacked targets in the US-allied Gulf states of Kuwait and Bahrain. The trigger was different interpretations of the framework agreement signed around two weeks ago to end the war – particularly with regard to the provisions on the Strait of Hormuz, which is important for world trade.
Iran claims control of shipping traffic. “The Strait of Hormuz will be placed fully under the administration of Iran again within the next 30 days,” said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday in Iraq’s capital Baghdad. Responsibility for the strait lies solely with Iran. The strait, which is important for global trade in oil and fertilizer, has turned out to be a powerful lever for the Islamic Republic in the war.
Expert: Iran does not want to give up leverage
Many ships have used a U.S.-backed route that closely follows the southern edge – the coasts of Oman and the United Arab Emirates. However, Tehran requires ships to take a route along its coast and warned against using the alternative route. “Iran has little interest in watching its political leverage disappear with every ship that is diverted into Omani waters,” Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group think tank told the Wall Street Journal.
The framework agreement “deliberately relied on flexible wording because that was probably the only way to bring it to conclusion,” said Nicole Grajewski from the elite Parisian university Sciences Po to the New York Times. But it is precisely this lack of clarity that has led to both sides now trying to create facts in their favor on the ground before the details are determined in a final agreement, said the political scientist.
Recent mutual attacks between the US and Iran have increased pressure on the tentative agreement to resolve the war, which is already being tested by ongoing fighting between Israel and the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
Israel: Massive Hezbollah tunnel destroyed
Meanwhile, according to official information, the Israeli army destroyed a large tunnel in southern Lebanon. It was Hezbollah’s “terror infrastructure,” according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz. It talks about a tunnel that is more than 200 meters long and over 25 meters deep. Hundreds of weapons are said to have been stored there. There were also several launch shafts for attacks on Israel.
According to military information, the tunnel was around ten kilometers from the Israeli border. The USA was informed about the destruction before the action, Netanyahu and Katz said in the statement. Lebanese residents reported that the earth shook during the massive explosion.
Tense situation despite framework agreement
The situation in southern Lebanon remains very tense despite an official ceasefire and the agreement of a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon. Both countries agreed on Friday on a path to peace and security after decades of war. However, Hezbollah rejects the agreement.
The militia was not involved in the negotiations and strictly rejects the disarmament proposed in the agreement. The framework agreement obliges Israel – contrary to what the leadership in Tehran and Hezbollah have demanded – to withdraw completely from southern Lebanon only when non-state groups such as the militia are disarmed. (sda/dpa)