"Final Stages of Talks with Oman on Hormuz"... US Water Supply Systems Hacked

[Anchor]

Over the weekend, the United States canceled airstrikes against Iran, while Iran announced that it is in the final stages of discussions with Oman regarding the management of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran maintained its stance that it has no intention of reopening the strait.

Correspondent Jeon Byeong-nam reports from Washington.

[Reporter]

The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that it is currently conducting final negotiations with Oman over the management of the Strait of Hormuz.

However, it claimed that there has been no discussion thus far regarding the reopening of the strait.

[Esmaeil Baghaei / Spokesperson, Iranian Foreign Ministry: The talks with Oman are bilateral and have nothing to do with any other country. The Strait of Hormuz will never return to the state it was in before February 28.]

This message was delivered as U.S. President Donald Trump announced the suspension of large-scale airstrikes against Iran, though Iran also shifted the blame for the recent military clashes back onto the United States.

Earlier, President Trump stated yesterday (the 2nd, Korea time) that he had prepared a large-scale airstrike against Iran but decided to call it off.

He explained that he received requests from Iran and other Middle Eastern countries asking him to withhold the attack because a framework for an agreement had been established, with reports indicating that Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, personally placed a call to request restraint from airstrikes.

[Trita Parsi / Executive Vice President, Quincy Institute: Saudi Arabia has no confidence whatsoever in U.S. military plans. They know that such escalation would lead to Iranian retaliation, and that Gulf nations would suffer the most damage.]

In response, the Iranian military pushed back, stating that "Trump's claim that Iran requested the cancellation of the attack is another lie," prompting analysis that positions within Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and diplomatic circles may be diverging.

In particular, reports also emerged that high-ranking Israeli officials were not briefed by the United States on the decision to cancel the strikes at the time.

Meanwhile, hacking attempts targeting water supply facilities have been confirmed in at least seven U.S. states.

The New York Times reported that U.S. authorities are leaning toward the possibility that Iran is behind the cyberattacks.

(Video by Oh Jung-shik | Video Editing by Lee Seung-yul | Design by Bang Min-ju)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.