From Escalation Back to Talks: The United States and Iran Agree to Halt Attacks

[Financial News] The United States and Iran, which had engaged in armed clashes over the Strait of Hormuz, have agreed to stop military attacks against each other. The two countries will hold an emergency meeting in Doha, Qatar, on the 30th to discuss ways to ensure safe passage through the strait. As a result, the ceasefire framework that had been shaken after the signing of the memorandum of understanding is now moving back into a phase of negotiations.
According to Axios on the 28th local time, the United States and Iran have agreed to halt the military operations that have continued in recent days. A senior U.S. official told Axios, "We have decided to stop all physical military operations."
The two sides are expected to hold working-level talks in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on the 30th and discuss measures to ease tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. The meeting had originally been scheduled to take place in Switzerland with Iran's nuclear program on the agenda, but both the venue and the topic were changed after the recent armed clashes.
The United States and Iran clashed militarily after Iran attacked civilian commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz on the 25th. The United States responded by striking infrastructure inside Iran, while Iran retaliated by attacking U.S. military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.
U.S. President Donald Trump disclosed the American airstrikes on Truth Social the previous day and warned, "There may come a time when we have to finish what we successfully started militarily. If that happens, Iran will no longer exist."
In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the U.S. strikes violated the ceasefire agreement and suggested that it could suspend the talks.
The two countries had agreed at a high-level meeting in Switzerland last week to set up a direct hotline between the U.S. military and the IRGC to prevent accidental clashes in the Strait of Hormuz, but it has not yet been put into operation.
Axios reported that Nick Stewart, who leads the U.S. working-level negotiating team, is expected to attend the Doha meeting.
The United States and Iran formally signed the memorandum of understanding on the 17th, but only 10 days later they were again engaged in armed clashes over the Strait of Hormuz. The agreement to halt attacks has at least kept the ceasefire in place for now, but whether the two sides can establish safeguards for safe passage through the strait and prevent military clashes has emerged as the biggest variable in their relationship.

km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter