IRAN – The US wants Iran to publicly state that the Strait of Hormuz is open and to pledge to stop firing on commercial ships as part of negotiations due to be held in Oman on Saturday.
US media cited unnamed officials as saying Tehran had privately acknowledged to President Donald Trump's advisers that the shooting at ships was a mistake, though the Iranians reportedly pinned the blame on a rogue internal group.
Trump has said both sides have agreed to continue indirect talks despite this week's fighting over the Strait of Hormuz, which the White House saw as a violation of the ceasefire. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country had "kept its word" on the ceasefire, saying on X the US had violated the deal. In June, the US and Iran signed a ceasefire agreement where Iran would, in part, give safe passage to commercial ships.
Tehran said that an "errant" sect of hardliners was trying to undermine negotiations by firing on the commercial ships, senior US officials told CBS News, the BBC's US partner. One official told the TV network: "They [the Iranians] came back to the table and said, 'We screwed up. We made a mistake. Let's keep talking”. Vice-President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and two people who have been heavily involved in Middle East talks - special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner - are expected to lead Saturday's negotiations. Araghchi is also expected to attend the talks.
In a briefing for reporters on Friday, the US officials said a message to Tehran's leadership had been conveyed through regional mediators demanding Iran release a statement declaring the strait open and that it will stop shooting at commercial ships, according to multiple media reports. "They're either going to give us that statement or we're not having a good outcome for them", said one official, quoted by Reuters news agency.
The White House also wants Iran to publicly acknowledge that firing on the shipping was a mistake, CBS reports. Meanwhile, a delegation from Qatar travelled to Iran on Friday for talks aimed at defusing tensions and easing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social earlier on Friday: "The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue 'talks.' (BBC)
