Iranian State Media Tasnim Reports Tehran Will Stop Exchanging Messages Through Intermediaries And Move To Complete Hormuz Closure Reversing Days Of Apparent Progress Toward A 60-Day Ceasefire Extension And MOU Agreement
According to CNBC and CBS News, Iranian negotiators stopped exchanging messages with the US through intermediaries in retaliation for ongoing ceasefire violations, Iran’s state-affiliated news outlet Tasnim reported. Tehran will also move to fully block the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices jumped over 7% following the report. The White House declined to comment. US Central Command declined to comment.
The announcement directly reverses what had appeared to be substantive forward progress. In recent days the two sides had discussed a memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire by 60 days, reopen shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, end a US blockade of Iranian ports, and launch negotiations on nuclear issues. A tentative agreement had been reached between negotiators, awaiting Trump’s sign-off. The state media had said the deal was not yet finalised on its end either.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi wrote: “Its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts. The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation.” Exports through the Strait have plunged from pre-war levels due to Hormuz blockade. Approximately a fifth of the world’s oil supplies passed through Hormuz before the war.
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