Washington
\nThe US wants Iran to publicly state that the Strait of Hormuz is open and to pledge to stop firing on commercial ships. This came after incidents earlier this week in which three commercial tankers were attacked, prompting an exchange of strikes with the US. According to US media, Iran told American officials the shootings were a mistake and blamed a rogue internal group.
\nUS President Donald Trump has said the Iranian attacks mean the ceasefire is over, but that talks aimed at ending the war would continue. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the US of violating the deal.
\nThe war began with US and Israeli attacks on 28 February, prompting Iran to attack Israel and US targets and allies in the Gulf. In June, the US and Iran signed a ceasefire agreement where Iran would, in part, give safe passage to commercial ships.
\nTehran privately acknowledged to Trump\u2019s advisers that the recent shooting at ships was a mistake, and that an \u201cerrant\u201d sect of hardliners was trying to undermine negotiations, senior US officials told CBS News, the BBC\u2019s US partner.
\nOne official told the TV network: \u201cThey [the Iranians] came back to the table and said, \u2018We screwed up. We made a mistake. Let\u2019s keep talking.\u2019\u201d
\nVice-President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as special US envoys Steve Witkoff and Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner, are expected to arrive in Oman later on Saturday.
\nAraghchi is also in the Gulf Arab state for talks with Omani officials.
\nDuring previous negotiations, the US and Iran have held indirect talks with Pakistani or Qatari mediators.
\nIn a briefing for reporters on Friday, the US officials said a message to Tehran\u2019s leadership had been conveyed through regional mediators demanding Iran release a statement declaring the Strait of Hormuz open and pledging to stop shooting at commercial ships, according to multiple media reports.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re either going to give us that statement or we\u2019re not having a good outcome for them,\u201d said one official, quoted by Reuters news agency.
\nThe White House also wants Iran to publicly acknowledge that firing on the shipping was a mistake, CBS reports.
\nMeanwhile, a delegation from Qatar travelled to Iran on Friday for talks aimed at defusing tensions and easing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz – the vital waterway where some 20% of the world\u2019s oil and liquefied natural gas passes.
\nTrump wrote in a post on Truth Social earlier on Friday: \u201cThe Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue \u2018talks.\u2019
\n\u201cWe have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!\u201d
\nIn the early hours of Saturday, Trump also responded to reports that Iran had plans to assassinate him.
\nThe US would \u201ccompletely decimate and destroy all areas\u201d of the country in retaliation to such an attack, he said.
\nThe Wall Street Journal and other US media reported this week that Israel had shared intelligence with Washington that Iran had recently devised a plan to assassinate the US president.
\nHowever, Trump denied that Tehran had made a fresh plan or that Israel was the source of any intelligence. He told the New York Post in an interview that he had been \u201cNo. 1 [on Iran\u2019s kill list] for a long time\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington The US wants Iran to publicly state that the Strait of Hormuz is open and to pledge to stop firing on commercial ships. This came after incidents earlier this week in which three commercial tankers were attacked, prompting an exchange of strikes with the US. According to US media, Iran told American officials the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-555803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n