Iran condemns the US for "violating the ceasefire agreement", with the unfreezing of overseas funds remaining the main point of contention in the negotiations.

Iran condemns the US for "violating the ceasefire agreement", with the unfreezing of overseas funds remaining the main point of contention in the negotiations.

Tensions between the US and Iran have suddenly escalated, with military clashes and diplomatic maneuvers unfolding simultaneously. Iran has condemned the US for violating the ceasefire agreement. Analysts believe this round of conflict is aimed at "using force to promote talks," while disagreements over the issue of unfreezing Iran’s overseas funds remain the main obstacle to breakthroughs in negotiations.

According to CCTV News, on May 26 local time, Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a statement claiming that the US had openly violated the ceasefire agreement. On the same day, according to CCTV International News, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared that Iran and regional resistance fronts had achieved significant victories in the "Third Imposed War," deploying large numbers of missiles and drones for attacks by land, air, and sea.

The origin of this clash arose from US military strikes earlier that day in the Strait of Hormuz. According to CCTV News on the 26th, US Central Command spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins stated that the US military carried out self-defense strikes in southern Iran on the 25th, "aimed at protecting US forces from threats posed by Iranian forces."

Meanwhile, differences at the negotiating table remain equally thorny. According to Xinhua citing Iran's Fars News Agency on the 26th, a source close to Iran's negotiation team said one of the major disagreements in current US-Iran talks is the unfreezing of Iran's overseas funds. The source said the US had "backed away" at times on fulfilling related commitments, but Iran insisted that "no agreement can be reached" until the agreed funds are received.

Military Clashes: Laying Mines, Counterattacks, Further Strikes

This round of conflict was triggered by a chain reaction.

According to media citing senior US officials, US forces spotted two Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and immediately sank them; Iran then launched surface-to-air missiles at US jets; the US military then struck missile launch sites near Abbas Port. Iran's official Fars News Agency reported large explosions at Abbas Port and in the Persian Gulf waters.

US Central Command spokesperson, Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, stated that this US operation was a "self-defense strike" "aimed at protecting US forces from threats posed by Iranian forces," emphasizing that "restraint has been maintained during the current ceasefire." According to Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jen Griffin, these strikes were defensive rather than offensive and were not intended to break the ceasefire.

Iran responded with military actions. According to Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency citing a Revolutionary Guard statement, Iran's air defense forces in the Persian Gulf region shot down a US MQ-9 "Reaper" drone, fired at an RQ-4 drone and an F-35 fighter jet, with the two US aircraft subsequently "forced to withdraw" from Iranian airspace.

Unfreezing Funds Becomes Central Obstacle to Negotiations

At the diplomatic level, negotiation progress has stalled.

According to Xinhua, citing Iran's Islamic Republic Radio and Television on the 26th, claims by some foreign media that “Iran and the US have reached a 14-point memorandum of understanding” are “pure fabrication and baseless.” The report noted that some media claimed to have obtained the final draft of the US-Iran memorandum, which allegedly included opening the Strait of Hormuz, launching nuclear issue negotiations, and unfreezing Iran’s frozen funds, but these claims are untrue.

Currently, the issue of unfreezing Iran's overseas funds remains one of the main disagreements in US-Iran negotiations. According to Xinhua, with coordination from Qatar, some progress has been made on these issues. But given the US’s history of "breaching commitments," Iran stated it “has prepared for all possible scenarios.”

Additionally, according to Xinhua citing Iran's Tasnim News Agency on the 26th, Iranian Speaker Kalibaf promoted the unfreezing of $24 billion of Iranian funds during his visit to Qatar. Iran demands that half of the funds be unfrozen immediately after the publication of the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US, and the remaining half be unfrozen within 60 days.

Using Force to Promote Talks: The Strategic Logic Behind Military Actions

Analysts believe the US military strike is not simply a military action, but an extension of negotiation strategies.

According to CCTV News, Qin Tian, Deputy Director of China Institute of Contemporary International Relations Middle East Studies, stated the US’s intentions are clear: first, “using force to promote talks,” continuing to pressure Iran through small-scale military actions in the final stages of negotiations as talks slow and hit bottlenecks; second, to reclaim control over the Strait of Hormuz, demanding Iran reopen the strait.

Qin Tian also pointed out that, judging from both sides' subsequent responses, Iran has not launched significant retaliations, and this small-scale clash "is unlikely to affect the progress and overall trend of the current US-Iran negotiations."

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