The United States and Iran agreed to halt tit-for-tat attacks and allow free passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, easing a five-day escalation near the key oil chokepoint.
“We decided to stop all the kinetic activity,” a senior U.S. official told Axios.
A second U.S. official said both sides would stand down “for now” and that “vessels can move freely” while technical negotiations continue.
The renewed strikes, which threatened the interim deal reached earlier this month, began after Iran launched a one-way attack drone at the Singapore-flagged container ship M/V Ever Lovely on June 25 as it exited the Strait of Hormuz along Oman’s coast. U.S. Central Command said the attack violated the ceasefire and threatened commercial shipping in the strategic waterway.
In response, the U.S. launched airstrikes against military targets near the Strait of Hormuz, including missile and one-way attack drone storage facilities, as well as coastal radar sites.
President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. officials would travel to Doha on Tuesday after Iran requested a meeting. He said the discussions would focus on Iran’s denuclearization.
“Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA! President DJT
( TS: Jun 29 2026, 7:31 AM ET ) pic.twitter.com/YzMslVifQz
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) June 29, 2026
U.S. President Donald J. Trump confirmed the meeting between U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Envoy Jared Kushner, and Qatar officials tomorrow in Doha, Qatar, saying that Iranian denuclearization is set to be the topic at hand. pic.twitter.com/DofJ1SqmKM
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 29, 2026
“Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be flying to Doha for high-level meetings this week, as we continue to discuss the memorandum of understanding,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “As far as we’re concerned, we’re holding up our end of the ceasefire. Violence will be met with violence.”
However, Iranian officials disputed U.S. officials’ claim that direct talks with U.S. representatives had been scheduled.
“There are no negotiation meetings with the U.S. side at any level scheduled in the coming days,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. “The fact that U.S. representatives are traveling to Qatar has no connection with the visit of the Iranian delegation.”
According to Iranian officials, Tehran’s delegation is traveling to Qatar to meet with mediators and discuss implementation of the interim agreement, including the release of frozen Iranian assets, rather than direct negotiations with U.S. representatives.
