07/11/2026July 11, 2026US wants Tehran to publicly pledge halting Hormuz attacks, officials say
Washington is demanding that Tehran publicly vow to end attacks on vessels in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, unnamed senior US officials told media outlets on Friday.
The officials, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said they were making progress in negotiations with top Iranian leaders.
But they stressed they wanted Iran to issue a statement saying its forces would stop attacking ships in the strait to help ensure the progress of negotiations.
“What we’re demanding is that the Iranians issue a public statement that acknowledges all channels of the Strait of Hormuz are open and they’re not shooting at ships anymore. They’re either going to give us that statement or we’re not having a good outcome for them,” one official was quoted as saying.
A ceasefire between Washington and Tehran was tested earlier this week when three Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting US President Donald Trumpto declare the ceasefire over.
A senior US official told reporters on Friday that Iran said the attacks were from “an errant part of their system.”
“We are hoping to get to a place where they publicly say that they will stop shooting at ships and sort of explicitly or at least implicitly acknowledging that they screwed up. We are working on that now,” one official said.
“The president has directed us to talk, but, as he’s shown a willingness to do, if they keep on shooting at ships or they engage on any other hostile acts, then we’re going to hit ’em back,” the official said.