US wants Iran to pledge to stop shooting at ships in Strait of Hormuz
The US wants Iran to publicly state that the Strait of Hormuz is open and to pledge to stop firing on commercial ships as part
The US wants Iran to publicly state that the Strait of Hormuz is open and to pledge to stop firing on commercial ships as part of negotiations due to be held on Saturday. US media cited unnamed officials as saying Tehran had privately acknowledged to President Donald Trump's advisers that the shooting at ships was a mistake, though the Iranians reportedly pinned the blame on a rogue internal group.
Trump has said both sides have agreed to continue talks despite this week's fighting over the Strait of Hormuz. In June the US and Iran signed a ceasefire agreement where Iran would, in part, give safe passage to commercial ships. Tehran said that an "errant" sect of hardliners was trying to undermine negotiations by firing on the commercial ships, senior US officials told CBS News, the BBC's US partner.
One official told the TV network: "They [the Iranians] came back to the table and said, 'We screwed up. We made a mistake. Let's keep talking.'" In a briefing for reporters on Friday, the US officials said a message to Tehran's leadership had been conveyed through regional mediators demanding Iran release a statement declaring the strait open and that it will stop shooting at commercial ships, according to multiple media reports.
"They're either going to give us that statement or we're not having a good outcome for them," said one official, quoted by Reuters news agency.
The BriefWire