U.S. Officials Say U.S. And Iran Teams Resume Talks Saturday In Oman

U.S. officials said U.S. and Iranian negotiating teams are expected to go back to the negotiating table on Saturday in Oman, after a senior U.S. official said, "They have come back to us and asked for further talks to try to settle some of the issues."

“US officials say negotiations with Iran to resume Saturday U”

ABC News

The same senior U.S. official said the goal was to reach a point where Iran would publicly say it will stop shooting at ships, adding, "We're working on that now."

ABC News

ABC News reported that the U.S. president has directed teams to talk, but warned that if Iran "keep on shooting at ships or if they engage in any other hostile act, then we're going to hit them back."

U.S. officials also described the ship strikes as coming from "an errant part" of the Iranian system that "was trying to undermine the deal," and said the strikes illustrated a fractured Iranian political system.

CBS News added that Trump reiterated on Friday that the ceasefire with Iran was "over" after less than three weeks, while saying the U.S. would continue negotiating.

Al Jazeera reported that Trump wrote on Truth Social, "The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks’," while also reiterating that the June 17 ceasefire has ended.

In the same report, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman denied new negotiations had been requested, saying only that it had accepted a visit by a Qatari delegation seeking to find a way through the impasse, as Iranian state television reported.

Al Jazeera

BBC News said Iran’s secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council warned of retaliation for any attack targeting Iran’s infrastructure, warning that Israel would not be spared, and carried a statement from Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf that "any attack on the infrastructure will be answered."

BBC also reported that Qalibaf stressed that the confrontation with the United States will not end in Iran’s surrender, emphasizing that the Islamic Republic will defend itself against every American violation of the memorandum of understanding.

Separately, PressTV quoted Qalibaf saying, "We are distrustful of the Americans," and adding, "only those who are prepared for war can negotiate with the United States."

Al Jazeera said the largest threat yet to the June 17 memorandum of understanding was the latest exchange of fire over the passage of commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, and noted that the memorandum called for an immediate end to fighting on all fronts, the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iran, and re-opening the Strait of Hormuz.

The report said Trump did not clarify whether the talks referenced would focus on ending the fighting or the issues meant to be addressed within 60 days of the memorandum’s signing, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and the unfreezing of Iranian assets.

BBC News reported that the United States said it targeted 90 military sites, while Iran announced 14 people were killed in the last two days, and the Iranian Health Ministry announced 14 deaths and 78 injuries in five provinces.

BBC also said the U.S. will respond using military and economic leverage if Iran continues to engage in hostile acts, and described Qatari mediators in Mashad working to de-escalate the situation.

In the same BBC report, Egypt’s and Qatar’s foreign ministers urged the United States and Iran to return to the negotiating table within the framework of the memorandum, with the Qatari Foreign Ministry stressing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to maintain regional security.