my timesThe Korea Times
  1. World

US says Iran talks to continue, 'both sides' pausing strikes

Listen
By AFP
  • Published Jun 29, 2026 12:12 pm KST
People move past a billboard with an image which depicts Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei embracing late senior Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani, in Tehran, Iran, June 28. Reuters-Yonhap

People move past a billboard with an image which depicts Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei embracing late senior Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani, in Tehran, Iran, June 28. Reuters-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — The United States and Iran have agreed to stop attacking each other and plan to meet and resume talks aimed at ending the Middle East war, a U.S. official said late Sunday.

U.S. and Iranian forces traded strikes in recent days despite a fragile June 17 memorandum of understanding (MOU) that seeks a comprehensive end of the conflict that began in late February and disrupted shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

Under that agreement, Tehran committed to allow safe passage of commercial vessels through the strait while Washington agreed to lift its blockade of Iranian ports.

"Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MOU," a U.S. official told AFP in an email. "Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely."

The official did not provide details on what day or where the talks would take place, but two U.S. officials and a third source with knowledge of the matter told American media outlet Axios that discussions would resume Tuesday in Qatar.

CNN reported similar comments citing a Trump administration official, saying the two sides will "stand down for now" and that they have agreed to meet in Doha on Tuesday for further talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump repeated past threats of military action if the Iranian strikes continue, saying on Saturday that Iran would "no longer exist" if the U.S. is "forced" to resume the war.

In the days since the signing of a Pakistan-brokered agreement aimed at ending the war, the United States and Iran have engaged in tit-for-tat attacks blaming each other for violating their ceasefire.

The latest flareup came early Sunday, when the U.S. military said it had attacked 10 Iranian military targets over "continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping."