* Iran will escalate if interim peace deal is not implemented, says official
Progress towards peace talks and a resumption of oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt, with no sign that the warring parties are moving towards ending the conflict that the U.S. and Israel launched with attacks on Iran on February 28. Iran said point 5 of the MoU gave it the right to manage the strait, which it shares with Oman, while the U.S. rejected that interpretation. Monday marked the day by which Iran and the U.S. were expected to reach a final peace agreement under a memorandum of understanding signed in June and aimed at ending the war.
* President Trump says he will bomb Oman if it ‘gets in the way’ DUBAI/WASHINGTON, – Iran will shift to a “fully offensive” military posture because efforts to negotiate a permanent end to its war with the U.S. have stalled, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, as Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement. “Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region, as Iran will be ready to make decisions and take action on difficult decisions,” the Iranian official said, adding that Tehran would conduct a “timely and precise” military attack to break the U.S. naval blockade if diplomacy failed. The agreement, which declared the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts”, quickly unravelled over a dispute about control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war. President Donald Trump said no. Hostilities resumed as Iran began firing on vessels it said were trying to sail through Hormuz on an unapproved route, and Trump said on July 7 that the pact was “over”.
Asked by reporters on Monday if the U.S. was seeking to extend June’s interim agreement, U.S.
