Elizabeth Stickney, a spokeswoman for the State Department, said President Trump wanted peace with Iran but that Washington viewed Tehran’s recent attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as a clear violation of the MoU between the two sides.
“We saw Iran attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” Stickney said in an interview with Amu TV. “From the perspective of the US government, this was a clear violation of the understanding between the United States and Iran.”
Her remarks come after a period of renewed exchanges between the United States and Iran that have strained a fragile diplomatic process and raised questions about whether negotiations can continue.
Stickney said the United States remained committed to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, pointing to discussions among NATO leaders as evidence of broader international support for that position.
“I think the important point is that, in the message from the NATO summit, all NATO member countries agreed that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon,” she said. She added that NATO countries had also called on Iran to fully respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tensions in the region appeared to ease somewhat after two consecutive days of exchanges, though the diplomatic process remains uncertain.
An American official told Al Jazeera that Washington remained committed to negotiations with Tehran and that technical discussions between the two sides were continuing. Mediators were working to preserve the diplomatic process, the official said, despite the challenges created by the recent attacks.
The Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a central point of contention between Washington and Tehran. The United States has insisted on freedom of navigation and the unrestricted passage of commercial shipping through the strategic waterway.
Iran, meanwhile, has sought greater control over arrangements governing the strait, according to reports, amid a broader dispute over regional security and its nuclear program.
The waterway is one of the world’s most important energy corridors, and any sustained disruption to commercial shipping could have significant consequences for global oil and gas markets.
Despite the tensions, shipping data indicate that traffic through the strait has gradually increased, with a number of oil tankers, liquefied natural gas carriers and other commercial vessels passing through the waterway in recent days.
The renewed movement of ships offers one indication that immediate tensions may be easing. But the underlying disputes — over Iran’s nuclear program, regional security and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz — remain unresolved.
For now, Washington says diplomacy remains its preferred course, even as the Trump administration continues to emphasize that negotiations are not its only option.
