Above all, it is mediators who are trying to breathe new life into the agreement on a path to peace that the US and Iran agreed to in mid-June.
They know that the key issue is the Strait of Hormuz, so yes, there is an exchange of views,” said Hassan Ghashghavi, spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, in a video interview.
The agreement, which came after talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad with the support of both Qatar and Pakistan, included provisions for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, an end to attacks - including Israel’s offensive in Lebanon - and continued negotiations to reach a permanent end to the conflict.
Accused each other
But the deal collapsed a few weeks later when the countries accused each other of violating the ceasefire - and in July, new attacks have occurred for at least 14 nights.
Ghashghavi's comments come after Donald Trump announced on Sunday night that the US was holding off on new large-scale attacks on Iran. This in turn followed a tense few days when reports in the US media claimed that US attacks on Iranian energy facilities were being prepared.
According to Trump, the United States has been asked by countries in the Middle East - including Iran - to calm down.
“In light of this request, for the future good of the world and to ensure the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, I have agreed to call off the attack, provided we can quickly reach an agreement,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also wrote that such an agreement would mean an “immediate, complete and total opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to the Iranian nuclear threat.”
“New lies”
Representatives of the Iranian military on Sunday called Trump's claims in state-controlled Iranian media that Iran had asked the United States not to carry out the attacks "nothing but new lies."
Iran's Fars news agency quotes a source close to Iranian negotiators as saying that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed "as long as the US continues its hostile actions."
According to sources to both AP and Axios, Saudi Arabia's ruling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged Trump in a phone call on Saturday not to escalate the conflict.
