The deadline set under a memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran in June expires on Monday, with no indications at the time of writing that it will be extended, as negotiations remain stalled and tensions rise over the future of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The so-called Islamabad memorandum was intended to pave the way for broader negotiations covering Iran’s nuclear programme, US sanctions and maritime security following fighting that began on February 28 and was followed by Iranian attacks on US interests and infrastructure across the region.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Tehran had not yet decided whether to resume negotiations with Washington. He said separate talks with Oman were focused on a technical issue involving new shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz and were not part of the US-Iran negotiating track.
Tensions over the strategic waterway have intensified after the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and the Gulf Cooperation Council condemned an Iranian attack on a vessel operated by UAE energy company ADNOC while it was transiting the strait, warning of risks to maritime security, energy supplies and international trade.
Iranian military officials have meanwhile adopted an increasingly hard line over Hormuz. Army Commander Amir Hatami said Tehran would defend what he called its “Hormuz card” with all available means and that conditions in the strait would not return to what they were before the war.
Hatami said the conflict had forced Iran to activate a geopolitical advantage it had long possessed.
Military rhetoric also escalated on Sunday. Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff said its forces would not retreat from their confrontation with the United States, while Hatami announced a $30,000 reward for any Iranian fighter who captured or killed a US soldier, according to Iranian state television and the Tasnim news agency.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said US President Donald Trump should “worry about his own safety” rather than issue threats concerning the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military has maintained a heavy regional presence. Central Command said its commander, General Brad Cooper, had completed a 10-day trip across six Middle Eastern countries, which also included a visit to a US aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.
Axios reported that the Trump administration sought in May to establish a secret communications channel with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards because US officials were uncertain whether Tehran’s official negotiators had full authority to conclude an agreement.
According to the report, Washington turned to Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani as a potential intermediary because of his relationships with both US officials and senior Revolutionary Guard figures.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has meanwhile acknowledged mounting domestic economic pressure from the conflict, including falling oil sales and revenues and damage to industrial facilities. He said Iran should have developed capabilities strong enough to deter its enemies from attacking the country.
In a separate dispute, Qatar rejected Iranian claims that it had detained three Iranian pilots after two Sukhoi-24 fighter jets crashed in March. Doha said the aircraft had violated Qatari airspace and that the pilots failed to respond to repeated communications, prompting defensive action under established rules of engagement. Qatar said it later recovered the remains of one pilot and offered Tehran cooperation in the search process.
