The United States and Iran have agreed to halt recent attacks and renew talks this week over the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported, citing senior U.S. officials, in a possible de-escalation after several days of strikes threatened to unravel an interim ceasefire.

The talks are expected Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, according to Axios and Reuters. The immediate issue is not only the broader U.S.-Iran confrontation, but the practical terms for allowing commercial vessels to move safely through the strait, a narrow Gulf waterway that remains a critical route for global energy shipments and a flashpoint for U.S. military operations in the Middle East.

Axios reported that the two sides agreed to stop attacking each other after renewed fighting put an 11-day-old ceasefire on unstable ground. A senior U.S. official told Axios the sides had decided to stop “kinetic activity,” while another U.S. official said both sides would stand down “for now” and that vessels could move freely as technical talks continue.

Reuters separately reported that Iran and the United States had agreed to halt recent hostilities in the Gulf and renew negotiations over the Hormuz dispute, citing a U.S. official. The official said technical talks would continue on all areas of the memorandum of understanding, and that both sides would stand down for now while vessels moved freely.

The reported pause follows a sharp escalation that began after attacks on commercial shipping near the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command said U.S. aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites on June 26 after Iran hit the Singapore-flagged M/V Ever Lovely with a one-way attack drone as the cargo ship was exiting the strait along the Omani coast.

CENTCOM said it carried out additional strikes on June 27 after another vessel, the Panama-flagged M/T Kiku, was hit while transiting near the strait with more than two million barrels of crude oil. The command said U.S. aircraft targeted Iranian surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities. CENTCOM said commercial transits through Hormuz were continuing and that U.S. forces remained present in the area.

The Iranian side has accused Washington of violating the ceasefire, while U.S. officials have described their strikes as responses to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping. Reuters reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missile and drone operations targeting U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain after President Donald Trump warned that the United States could “militarily complete the job” if Iran did not honor the agreement.

Reuters reported that a U.S. official said there were no reported U.S. casualties or major damage to U.S. sites in the Middle East, though the situation was still unfolding. Kuwait’s army said it intercepted two ballistic missiles with no damage or casualties, Reuters reported. Bahrain said an Iranian attack damaged a residential building in Muharraq province, with no casualties reported.

The June 17 memorandum of understanding is the immediate diplomatic framework for the new talks. According to Axios, Iran committed under the MOU to make its best efforts to allow safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, while the United States lifted its blockade of Iranian ports. Axios reported that the latest fighting stemmed partly from competing interpretations of that agreement, especially over the rules governing passage through the strait.

A key operational issue is whether the parties can establish and use a direct military coordination channel. Axios reported that, during talks in Switzerland last week, the U.S. delegation headed by Vice President JD Vance agreed with Iran to establish a hotline between the U.S. military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to coordinate traffic in the strait. Axios reported that the hotline was still not operational as of Saturday, even as Iran again claimed ships needed to coordinate passage.

The planned Doha talks were originally expected to take place in Switzerland and focus on Iran’s nuclear program, Axios reported, citing a source with knowledge of the talks. The escalation moved the venue and refocused the agenda on Hormuz. Nick Stewart, who heads the U.S. technical team, is expected to participate, Axios reported, citing a U.S. official and a source familiar with the matter.

The Strait of Hormuz gives the dispute immediate relevance for U.S. households, companies and policymakers. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has described Hormuz as one of the world’s most important oil transit chokepoints. In 2024, oil flow through the strait averaged about 20 million barrels per day, or roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption, according to the EIA. The United States imported about 0.5 million barrels per day of crude oil and condensate from Persian Gulf countries through Hormuz in 2024, a smaller direct share than in past decades but still part of a global market that affects U.S. fuel prices.

The United States also has substantial military and diplomatic exposure across the Gulf. Bases and security partnerships in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and other regional states support U.S. operations, maritime security and deterrence. That makes any Iranian attack on U.S. sites or allied territory a direct national security issue for Washington, even when immediate casualties are avoided.

The diplomatic challenge is broader than bilateral U.S.-Iran talks. Gulf states depend on stable maritime flows. Energy consumers in Asia depend heavily on oil and LNG shipments through Hormuz. Israel and Hezbollah have also re-entered the picture: Reuters reported that Israel said it had renewed attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, while Iran has said fighting in Lebanon must end if the wider agreement is to hold.

For now, the agreement to halt attacks is best understood as a tactical pause rather than a settlement. The planned Qatar meeting could clarify transit procedures, military communications and monitoring arrangements, but it is unlikely to erase the wider conflict over Iran’s regional posture, its nuclear program, U.S. military presence in the Gulf and competing claims over control of maritime routes.

The most immediate test will be whether commercial vessels can transit Hormuz without additional attacks or competing instructions from U.S. and Iranian forces. A durable pause would ease pressure on energy markets and regional governments. A breakdown would risk another cycle of shipping attacks, U.S. retaliatory strikes and Iranian moves against American positions or Gulf partners.