U.S. Seeks Iran’s Commitment to Stop Firing at Ships in the Strait of Hormuz

Darwin, 11 July: The United States has claimed that Iran has acknowledged that the attack on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz was a “mistake.” Washington has also said that Iran must publicly declare that the Strait of Hormuz remains open and that it will no longer fire on commercial ships. According to several anonymous U.S. officials, these demands come ahead of talks between the two countries scheduled for Saturday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that despite this week’s confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz, both sides have agreed to continue negotiations. However, the White House maintains that this week’s incidents constituted a violation of the ceasefire agreement signed in June. Under the interim peace agreement reached last June, Iran had pledged to ensure the safe passage of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to reports published by various U.S. media outlets citing anonymous officials, Tehran privately informed President Donald Trump’s advisers that the shooting at commercial vessels had been a mistake. Iran, however, has consistently blamed the incident on a “rogue” internal faction.

CBS News reported that, according to senior U.S. officials, Iran said the hardline group carried out the attack on commercial ships in an attempt to derail the ongoing negotiations.

One U.S. official claimed, “Iran has come back to the negotiating table. They told us, ‘We made a mistake. It was an error. Let’s continue the talks.'”

During a briefing with reporters on Friday, U.S. officials said that a message had been sent to Iran’s leadership through regional mediators. The message urged Tehran to issue an official public statement confirming that the Strait of Hormuz remains open and that no further attacks will be carried out against commercial vessels.

Quoting Reuters, one official said, “They will either provide us with that statement, or the consequences for them will not be good.”

The CBS report further stated that the White House wants Iran to publicly acknowledge that firing on commercial ships was a mistake.

The U.S. delegation to Saturday’s talks in Oman is expected to be led by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Meanwhile, a Qatari delegation visited Iran on Friday in an effort to help reduce tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and restore normal maritime traffic.

In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has once again requested that we continue the negotiations. We have agreed. However, the United States has made it clear to them that the ceasefire is over.”