‘Both sides will stand down’: US says Iran talks to continue despite recent attacks
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Both sides will stand down’: US says Iran talks to continue despite recent attacks")
Vessels are pictured off coast of the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 28, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
The US and Iran will continue technical talks after agreeing to temporarily stand down following recent clashes. Both sides say ships can move freely through the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite the recent exchange of attacks, the United States and Iran are set to continue technical talks aimed at ending the war in the Middle East, a US official said. This comes after the American and Iranian forces traded strikes despite a fragile June 17 memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending the conflict. The United States have also announced that both sides will stand down after the lastest clashes.
“Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MOU (memorandum of understanding). Both sides will stand down for now, and vessels can move freely” in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the official told AFP.
The official did not provide further details on when and where the talks will take place. Meanwhile, Axios reported that discussions would resume on Tuesday (Jun 30) in Qatar.
US strikes at ‘multiple targets’ in Iran
The US military on Saturday (Jun 27) said that it conducted strikes on 10 Iranian military targets at “multiple locations” in and near the Strait of Hormuz. The US Central Command said in a statement that American forces conducted the strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/T Kiku. The Panama-flagged tanker, carrying two million barrels of crude oil, was transiting near the Strait of Hormuz when it was struck by an Iranian drone.
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Following the US attacks, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that it carried out retaliatory strikes against Kuwait and Bahrain in response to the US attacks on Iran. It also vowed a “crushing response” to any further military action by the United States.
The Guards “destroyed eight important US military facilities at the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait and at the Fifth Fleet naval base in Port Salman in Bahrain,” they said in a statement.
‘Iran will no longer exist’
In a post on his Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump renewed his threats against Tehran, warning that “Iran will no longer exist.”
“United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN! It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” Trump wrote.
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, the US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.
