The United States and Iran will stop carrying out strikes and ships will be allowed to move freely as technical negotiations on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the countries are planned to continue.
โIt is planned that technical negotiations will continue on all sections of the Memorandum. Both sides will refuse for now and the ships will be able to move freely,โ a US official told Reuters on Sunday local time.
Negotiations include agreements around the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the US blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions against Iran, and the future of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile.
Both sides have 60 days from the signing of the memorandum of understanding earlier this month to work out the details.
Impact of the Iran deal on the Gulf countries
The US official’s comments came after the US and Iran exchanged fire amid rising tensions that have threatened a temporary agreement between the two countries to end the war.
The United States launched strikes on Iranian military infrastructure near the Strait of Hormuz early Sunday, saying it was in retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial shipping.
Iran then launched strikes on US allies Kuwait and Bahrain, prompting the US to launch a second round of air strikes, which Iran again retaliated against.
Both sides accused each other of violating the interim peace agreement, which stated that military operations would cease permanently on all fronts.
Axios, which first reported the cessation of hostilities, citing a senior U.S. official, said talks would resume on Tuesday in Qatar.
Israel has captured about 600 square kilometers of southern Lebanon. (AP Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)
Fighting in Lebanon threatens agreement
The ongoing conflict in Lebanon has threatened the peace deal, with Beirut saying fighting must end on all fronts before certain issues can be discussed.
Australians support family in Lebanon
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported several strikes on Sunday, including on the southern town of Nabatiyeh, while Lebanon’s health ministry said two people were wounded by an Israeli stun grenade in the south.
The Israeli army said it destroyed a vast tunnel in southern Lebanon on Sunday.
โThe tunnel, more than 200 meters long and more than 25 meters deep, contained hundreds of weapons as well as several launch silos designed to target the State of Israel and its civilian population,โ Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a joint statement.
โIsrael informed the US and the US representative in Lebanon in advance about the destruction of the infrastructure.โ
The incidents occurred despite a tripartite framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel with US support on Friday to pave the way for peace between the two countries and disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The agreement did not include Iran or Hezbollah, which criticized it and rejected calls for disarmament.
Hezbollah’s leader said on Saturday that the group would continue fighting until Israel withdraws from Lebanon.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi reiterated that the US must force Israel to stop attacks and leave.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi called on the United States to force Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. (Reuters: Thayer Al-Sudani)
Israel occupies about 600 square kilometers in southern Lebanon, which it says it needs as a security buffer.
Key Iranian negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said on Sunday that a meeting of a new “conflict monitoring unit” formed between Iran, the United States and Lebanon should take place as soon as possible, Iranian state broadcaster reported.
Israel attacks Syrian village
On Sunday evening, the Israeli military shelled the village of Abdin in the southern Syrian province of Daraa, Syrian state media reported.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The Daraa provincial government said in a statement that villagers threw stones at the Israeli convoy as it approached the village, and that troops withdrew after U.N. peacekeepers intervened.
It said Israeli artillery shelling forced residents of Abdin to flee the village.
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said it had killed several armed men in southern Syria, but did not provide details. There have been no statements from Syrian officials.
Israel seized control of the UN-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria in December 2024 after the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by a rebel offensive.
Israeli officials initially called the move temporary, but more recently they said they planned to occupy the zone indefinitely.
Reuters/AP/AFP