US and Iran Agree to Halt Gulf Strikes, Resume Qatar Talks
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- Iran and the United States agreed to stand down and resume technical talks on a 14-point memorandum of understanding signed Jun 17, with negotiations set to continue Tuesday in Qatar, a US official said.
- Iran launched missiles and drones at US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain early Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump warned on social media that "the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist" if diplomacy fails.
- Iran initially cancelled the Sunday technical talks, citing unfulfilled conditions including access to unfrozen funds, according to Mehdi Fazaeili of the Office of Iran's Supreme Leader.
- Kuwait intercepted two ballistic missiles with no damage or casualties, while Bahrain reported an Iranian strike damaged a residential building in Muharraq province, and Qatar said one of its nationals died from shrapnel aboard a vessel that went missing Saturday.
- The crisis was triggered when an Iranian projectile hit a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz last Thursday, with both sides accusing the other of breaking a ceasefire agreed on Jun 17 following US-Israeli strikes that began Feb 28.
- A prior round of mediated talks between US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was held in Switzerland a week ago, after which Washington waived sanctions on Tehran before fighting resumed.
Why it matters: The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly a fifth of global oil shipments, and Iran's near-shutdown of it during the conflict had already rattled energy markets. Holding this ceasefire together matters because it is the only mechanism currently keeping that chokepoint open and preventing a wider regional war that would draw in US bases across Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.
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