The U.S. and Iran escalated strikes over the past days, leading to a decline in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as Tehran keeps targeting vessels seeking to cross the key waterway. Washington, in turn, claims the strait is open and is ensuring safe passage for ships.
Citing shipping data from Kpler, Reuters detailed that traffic slowed to a five-week low on Sunday, with only six vessels going through the waterway. President Donald Trump said the strait is open to commercial traffic but Tehran claims it is closed. The country's revolutionary guard said on Monday that forces stopped two ships after shutting down its systems.
In this context, a top Iranian official said the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran is in "crisis."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the U.S. "violated its commitments" defined in the document.
Quoted in the state news agency IRNA, Baghaei went on to reject rumors that recent talks included nuclear matters.
He said the discussions "were solely focused on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz" and Tehran's effort was "to reach a mechanism in consultation with Oman that would ensure the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz."
Baghaei then claimed that the countries did not reach an agreement with Oman, located on the other side of the waterway, due to "overt and covert pressure from the U.S. on Oman."
He also defended Iran's decision to launch attacks against countries in the region in retaliation for U.S. strikes, claiming Tehran is only targeting "the bases, facilities, and positions used by the United States to attack Iran, including its logistical and support facilities."
The country targeted bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and Qatar, the country's state media claimed. CNBC said sirens sounded for a third time in Bahrain on Monday. The U.S. Central Command said on Sunday that the U.S. had targeted dozens of targets related to the country's tools to attack vessels attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz.
It is unclear whether talks with the U.S. continued over the past few days. President Donald Trump said Tehran has asked to continue negotiations and he has agreed, but clarified that the ceasefire is over.
"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 Cease Fire is OVER!" Trump said in a social media publication last week.
