Iran blames US for Hormuz dispute as both sides confirm ongoing talks

Iran has accused the United States of trying to force open a new route through the Strait of Hormuz, bypassing Iranian authorities, a move it says violates the two countries' interim peace deal and caused tensions there to spike.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the remarks in an interview published by Iranian media on Saturday, saying the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in June gives Tehran the right to set transit routes and mechanisms for the strategic waterway.

Araghchi said Washington should have consulted with Tehran regarding any new routes, adding that the two sides had agreed to open a direct line of communication to resolve such disputes.

Araghchi's remarks came amid some signs of de-escalation between the US and Iran, after weeks of strikes against each other's interests all but destroyed their interim deal.

Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, said there had been 'no direct attacks' by the US on major Iranian cities overnight on Saturday, a break from nearly two straight weeks of nightly strikes.

'Iran had a peaceful night', Iran's health ministry spokesperson, Hossein Kermanpour, said in a post on X.

But Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite force that runs much of the country's missile and drone programme, said its attacks had destroyed US military aircraft at bases across the region.

An IRGC spokesman, in a statement carried by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, said Iranian forces had destroyed 17 reconnaissance and operational drones, an F-15 fighter jet inside a hangar, a P-8 surveillance aircraft, a C-17 transport plane and eight refuelling aircraft on the ground at US bases in the region.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump appeared to soften on an earlier threat to carry out new 'massive' attacks on Iran, saying that may no longer be necessary.

'They [Iranian officials] are talking to us right now; they'd love to make a deal,' Trump said on Friday night. 'I don't think they're ready to ... but I'm willing to listen.'

Iranian officials have confirmed to Al Jazeera that the US and Iran are exchanging messages. 'There have been proposals conveyed by the mediators, and Tehran is still reviewing them,' said Serdar. However, he said there is 'not much progress yet', citing 'fundamental differences' in their positions and deep 'mistrust'.

Control over the Strait of Hormuz has become a central point of contention between the US and Iran. Iran claims it has the right to oversee passage through the strait under the MoU, calling on vessels to coordinate with its authorities and use designated routes. The US disputes this interpretation and has repeatedly said Iran does not control the strait.

On Saturday, the IRGC said its naval units fired warning shots to stop four vessels over the previous 24 hours as they tried to pass through the southern corridor of the strait, a route Iranian forces consider unsafe, according to Iranian state television.

Former Austrian Defence Attache Wolfgang Pusztai said the US is using all forms of strategy with Iran, including diplomacy, economic pressure through its blockade and military action. 'There is some kind of hot and cold approach in order to facilitate the wish, the desire of the Iranians to achieve an end to the whole war. So one night they are bombarded, one night they are not bombarded.'