Iran claims ‘kept its word’ on US ceasefire

On Saturday, July 11, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Tehran had “honoured its commitment” to a ceasefire with the United States, despite Donald Trump’s assertion that the truce had ended; however, he expressed a willingness to engage in additional conversations with the Islamic Republic. Iran has thus far honoured its commitments, in contrast to the purported US Treasury Secretary, who is contravening Paragraph 9 of the Memorandum of Understanding, which pertains to the United States refraining from deploying additional military forces in the region, as reported by BSS via Agence France-Presse.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump stated that the United States and Iran had consented to persist with negotiations despite a recent intensification of hostilities; however, he unequivocally declared that the ceasefire established between the two parties last month was terminated, according to Reuters.

The United States has intensified its demands for Iran to cease assaults on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, where recent conflicts have escalated oil prices, a politically sensitive matter for Trump in advance of the November midterm elections.

Trump’s remarks occurred during a period of relative tranquillity following a week of escalated hostilities, during which three commercial tankers from Qatar and Saudi Arabia were attacked, leading the US to target Iranian installations and Iran to retaliate with assaults on US military bases in Gulf states.

No further assaults were reported on Friday as regional mediators endeavoured to preserve diplomatic initiatives aimed at conclusively terminating a conflict that commenced on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes against Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran has requested that we persist in negotiations. We have consented to proceed, but the United States has unequivocally informed them that the ceasefire has concluded,” Trump articulated in a post on Truth Social.