DOHA — Iran threatened to bring peace negotiations with the United States to a "complete halt" after U.S. retaliatory airstrikes, escalating tensions despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to preserve a fragile ceasefire, according to Iranian and U.S. officials.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said continued U.S. military action would lead to a "complete halt" of the negotiation process, after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian missile, drone and radar facilities in response to what the U.S. military said were Iranian attacks that violated a ceasefire framework.
The latest exchange followed Iranian drone and missile attacks targeting U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, which Tehran said were retaliation for earlier American strikes. U.S. Central Command said its operations were directed at military targets inside Iran after what it described as continued Iranian attacks and ceasefire violations.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Washington would "complete the job" if Iran failed to comply with the ceasefire, while Iranian officials maintained that further U.S. military action would undermine the diplomatic process.
Despite the sharp rhetoric, a U.S. official told CBS News that talks were expected to continue and that both sides had agreed to stand down following the latest exchange of strikes, with negotiations expected to focus on security arrangements in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
No updated casualty figures from the latest military exchanges were immediately available from either side, and Reuters could not independently verify battlefield claims.
The situation remained fluid on June 29, with diplomatic contacts continuing even as both governments accused the other of violating the existing ceasefire framework.
