WASHINGTON, July 11. /TASS/. The Washington administration demands that Tehran publicly declare that the Strait of Hormuz is open to navigation, and ships passing through it will not be attacked by the Iranian side, Reuters reported, citing its unnamed US official sources.
"What we're demanding is that the Iranians issue a public statement that acknowledges all channels of the Strait of Hormuz are open and they're not shooting at ships anymore," the agency quoted one of its official sources as saying. "They're either going to give us that statement or we're not having a good outcome for them."
According to Reuters, the United States also demands that Iran publicly declare its lack of intentions to charge for the passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Axios news web portal and Israel's Channel 12 reporter Barak Ravid stated earlier that the United States is trying to get Iran to announce it publicly on July 11.
According to American officials, negotiations between the United States and Iran have been productive in recent days.
The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. The then Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an airstrike. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding envisaging an immediate cessation of hostilities on all the fronts, including in Lebanon. Later, the United States and Iran engaged in Qatar-and Pakistan-mediated talks in Switzerland’s Burgenstock.
According to the mediators’ joint statement after the first round of talks, the meeting was held in a positive and constructive atmosphere and yielded promising progress, laying the groundwork for further technical consultations.
However, overnight to July 8, the United States resumed massive airstrikes on Iran, accusing it of violating their previous agreements, in particular, regarding the Strait of Hormuz. In response, Iran struck US military facilities in the region.