US, Iran Agree to 'Stand Down for Now'

Ships in one of the world's most critical oil corridors are getting a reprieve—for now. US and Iranian officials have agreed to halt several days of clashes around the Strait of Hormuz and restart peace talks, likely at a summit in Doha as soon as Tuesday, according to US and other officials involved who spoke to the Wall Street Journal and Axios. A US official said commercial vessels are again expected to move freely through the chokepoint, where traffic had plunged amid strikes and counterstrikes. A Trump administration official later confirmed to CNN that both sides have agreed to "stand down for now."

The pause comes after the fiercest fighting since a June 17 memorandum set the stage for broader negotiations, including over Iran's nuclear program. Tehran has insisted it alone oversees traffic in the strait, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying Iran bears "responsibility" for restoring and managing shipping there—an interpretation Washington disputes, arguing the waterway must remain open to all. In recent days, Iran hit two commercial vessels and later struck Kuwait and Bahrain, while US forces targeted Iranian communications, drone, and missile sites and downed additional drones. The Hormuz dispute has already delayed planned US-Iran talks in Switzerland and pushed nuclear issues into a later phase, even as US officials publicly warn they won't tolerate more attacks on shipping.