Trump says US agreed to Iran’s request to continue talks, but ceasefire is over

DUBAI – US President Donald Trump said on July 10 that the United States and Iran had agreed to continue talks despite a recent escalation of hostilities, but he flatly declared that the ceasefire reached between the two sides in June was over.

The US also stepped up demands that Iran stop attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, where recent hostilities have pushed oil prices higher, a politically sensitive issue for Trump ahead of November congressional elections.

His comments came on a day of relative calm at the end of a week of renewed conflict, when three Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers came under fire, prompting the US to hit Iranian sites, and Iran to respond with strikes on US military sites in Gulf states.

No fresh attacks were reported on July 10 as regional mediators sought to salvage diplomatic efforts to permanently end a war that began on Feb 28 with the US-Israeli strike on Iran.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks’. We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the ceasefire is OVER!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Iran accepts Qatari mediator

Iran disputed Trump’s interpretation, saying it had not requested talks with the US, but had agreed to host a Qatari mediator in Tehran, state television reported, citing a spokesperson from Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

Qatari negotiators were meeting officials in Iran on July 10 to seek to de-escalate tensions and discuss navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would visit Oman to discuss arrangements for the safe passage of ships through the strait, news agency ISNA reported, citing the Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

The US is demanding that Iran publicly state it will stop attacks on ships in the strait and that all lanes will be open to shipping with no tolls, senior US officials said on July 10.

After Washington accused Iranian forces of attacking three tankers in the area, the US struck military sites in Iran in response. Iran then attacked US military sites in Gulf states on July 9.

At least 17 people were killed in US strikes on six cities in Iran on July 8 and 9, the head of the public relations and information centre at Iran’s Health Ministry said. He said 115 people were also wounded.

Even so, US officials said conversations between the two countries had been productive in recent days.

“What we’re demanding is that the Iranians issue a public statement that acknowledges all channels of the Strait of Hormuz are open and they’re not shooting at ships any more. They’re either going to give us that statement or we’re not having a good outcome for them,” one official said.

Tehran, in turn, pledged that any breach of commitments by Washington would be met with “reciprocal action”, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, according to state media.

That interim deal was meant to pave the way to the end of a conflict now in its fifth month that has killed thousands, throttled worldwide energy supplies and raised fears of a global economic downturn.

Oil market turbulence

Renewed fighting in the Gulf has increased the pain for US consumers.

After weeks of steady declines, crude oil prices experienced their biggest weekly rise in eight weeks.

US petrol inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels last week, nearly 10 million barrels below the ⁠five-year average, the Energy ​Information Administration said.

Petrol stocks are running below seasonal norms across all US regions, said Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at Dow Jones Energy.

The Strait of Hormuz handled about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war. Tehran has since largely taken control of the waterway, forcing a stalemate in its confrontation with the world’s most powerful military.

Condolence ceremony for Khamenei

Iran on July 9 buried its slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the country’s holiest shrine in Mashhad, capping a week of funeral processions and rallies.

Khamenei was killed in an air strike on the first day of the war on Feb 28.

A condolence ceremony will be held on July 10 after sunset prayers on behalf of supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei for his father in the city of Qom, his office announced.

Mojtaba Khamenei, who was injured in the strike that killed his father, has still not appeared in public, fuelling speculation about his role in Iran’s future.

“I understand that, from a security standpoint, he should not appear in public. But the country is going through a very difficult time,” ​said Taghi, 47, a shop owner in Isfahan who asked not to give his family name. “There is a need for the supreme leader to be seen.” REUTERS