Iran Continues Talks with Mediators to Prevent Escalation

The Iranian government has said it continues to hold talks with mediators from Pakistan, Qatar and Oman in an effort to prevent further escalation in its conflict with the United States.

“The mediators’ role is to continue their efforts to prevent an escalation of tensions,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei in a statement, as reported by AFP on Monday (13/7/2026).

The United States launched a fresh series of attacks on targets in Iran on Monday (13 July) local time, for the second consecutive day. Washington claims the military strikes are in response to attacks it believes Tehran carried out on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest wave of US attacks has prompted Iran to target its neighbouring countries in the Gulf region, as well as Jordan, in retaliation.

Iran has warned that it will no longer abide by the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the United States in mid-June if Washington fails to honour its commitment to end the war.

“Whenever the other side fails to meet its obligations, we too do not fulfil ours… We will continue to act in this way,” Baghaei declared at a recent press conference in Tehran, following the latest round of hostilities between the two countries.

Baghaei stressed that Iran is working to agree on a joint mechanism with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz. However, US pressure on Oman has hindered these efforts.

The fighting that has broken out again between Iran and the United States, after a fragile ceasefire in place since April, centres on contradictory claims over the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway vital to global energy supplies.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recently announced that the Strait of Hormuz is now “closed”. The United States, however, insists that the vital waterway remains open to maritime traffic and is not controlled by Iran.

Mediators have been attempting to salvage a diplomatic solution to end the war, after US President Donald Trump declared last week that the ceasefire had ended.

Pakistan, the lead mediator in the Iran-US negotiations, said in a Foreign Ministry statement that it harbours “deep concern over the rise in regional tensions”.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the US attacks have “caused insecurity to return to the Strait of Hormuz” and have “rendered all efforts futile” in building peace in the region.