Iran struck a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, a day after rejecting a shipping arrangement that Oman had set up with the United Nations. The attack prompted the UN to halt efforts to evacuate stranded sailors from the Persian Gulf through the waterway.
According to CBS News, Iran's state-backed Press TV reported Friday that Iran and the United States have since established a communications line to prevent further military incidents in the strait. Pakistani and Qatari mediators had first called for that line after the two countries held direct talks in Switzerland on Sunday.
In a joint statement, those mediators said the line would be established "to avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz."
The dispute over the strait centers on competing claims about how ships should move through it. Oman said Wednesday it had created two temporary shipping lanes in conjunction with the UN's International Maritime Organization. Iran rejected that arrangement, saying it had authorized only one route, passing close to the Iranian coast. Article 5 of the memorandum of understanding signed last week by President Trump and his Iranian counterpart states that Iran and Oman will discuss the "future administration" of the passage, but the two sides have not reached agreement on what that means in practice.
Broader peace negotiations remain slow. Pakistani mediators said direct talks between the U.S. and Iran will likely resume next week. Qatar said technical teams have begun working on the details of a wider peace deal. The two sides appear to remain at odds on basic points in their memorandum of understanding, including control of the waterway and how Iran will spend its unfrozen funds.
On the ground in Lebanon, Israel issued evacuation orders Friday to civilians in the southern town of Al-Mansouri, near the security zone Israeli forces have occupied during their operations against Hezbollah. Israeli drones dropped leaflets reading: "Danger zone! Stay away! Any approach to Israeli army forces puts you at risk. Do not approach!" The orders were the first Israel had issued to Lebanese civilians since a ceasefire was agreed to last week.
That ceasefire has not stopped the fighting, though the intensity has decreased over the past week. The leader of Hezbollah added a further complication Friday, indicating that the Iranian-backed group would not disarm and insisting that Israeli forces must withdraw completely from Lebanon.
Direct U.S.-Iran talks are expected to resume in the coming days, with technical teams from Qatar already working on a broader framework.
