(July 11): The US is demanding that Iran issue a public statement that all channels of the Strait of Hormuz are open to shipping and that they will not attack transiting civilian vessels, according to senior administration officials.
The officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity on Friday, said they expect talks to continue despite the latest flare-up in tensions with Iran.
Still, the US officials warned that failure to do so by Tehran to deliver the public assurance would result in consequences. An official said that the US expects Iran to say something publicly to allay US concerns.
Earlier on Friday, Trump said the US would continue talks with Iran but that he considers the ceasefire between the countries to be over. His administration moved to add sanctions on Tehran.
The new developments followed several nights of US airstrikes and Iranian retaliation that sent oil prices higher and raised doubts about further talks towards a broader peace deal. The recent tensions, along with a US Treasury move to revoke a waiver allowing Iran to sell its oil globally, posed the biggest challenges yet to the interim peace deal between Washington and Tehran.
The US has blamed Iran for attacks on ships transiting the strait and launched strikes on Iranian targets. Iran has hit back at US bases in the region.
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A US official said that Iran had blamed those recent ship attacks on rogue elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has rejected claims that Tehran requested new talks. Iran’s foreign minister is slated to travel to Oman this weekend for negotiations with officials there on the strait.
The talks between the US and Iran must also resolve other issues beyond the strait such as the status of frozen Iranian assets and the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme. Trump has said he started the war to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
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US officials on Friday said no final deal would be reached until Iran turns over enriched uranium, which the US has said is contained in facilities struck by American forces.
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