(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) Axios reported on Sunday that the US and Iran have agreed to stop striking each other after several days of attacks across the Strait of Hormuz and that the two sides will meet for talks in Doha this Tuesday.
So far, the story hasn’t been confirmed by the Iranian side, and an Iranian official said earlier in the day that Tehran had not participated in technical talks with Washington scheduled for Sunday over the attacks and the US’s failure to fulfill its commitments under the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding.
“For example, one of the reasons is checking if we have access to the unfrozen funds, if there is no access then this condition has not been fulfilled,” said Mehdi Fazaeili, a member of the office of Iran’s supreme leader.
US officials told Axios reporter Barak Ravid that the talks on Tuesday were initially supposed to take place in Switzerland and focus on Iran’s nuclear program, but they’ve been moved to Qatar and will now focus on the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz. The report said that Nick Stewart, who recently joined US envoy Steve Witkoff’s team, will participate in the talks.
Stewart came from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, an ultra-hawkish pro-Israel think tank that has been pushing for war with Iran for many years. According to Axios, Stewart, who has previously denounced the idea of negotiating with Iran, is leading the US technical team, which doesn’t bode well for the prospects of a long-term deal between the US and Iran.
The attacks over the past few days mark the first major flare-up since the US-Iran MoU was announced. After talks with Iranian officials in Switzerland, Vice President JD Vance said Iran had agreed to establish a direct military line with the US to manage tensions, but according to an Axios report, it is not yet operational.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
