US pauses Iran strikes amid diplomatic momentum gain
Representational image. BSS.
After nearly two weeks of escalating military action, the United States has halted its airstrikes on Iran, as diplomatic efforts intensify to avert a full-scale war.
Following 13 consecutive nights of bombing, no US strikes were reported overnight, raising hopes that the pause could open a window for negotiations. Still, President Donald Trump has repeatedly cautioned that military action could resume if diplomatic overtures fail.
The lull comes just ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's anticipated visit to Washington next week, adding another layer of complexity to efforts aimed at de-escalating a conflict that will mark its five-month anniversary on Tuesday.
Regional mediators said negotiations are continuing to preserve the interim ceasefire established in June and reduce tensions around the Strait of Hormuz—a vital chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply typically transits.
A regional official involved in the mediation efforts, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks, said both Washington and Tehran are seeking a return to the ceasefire framework and are discussing arrangements that would ease restrictions on commercial shipping through the strategic waterway.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei confirmed that Iranian and Omani officials held several rounds of technical talks over the weekend, noting that discussions had made progress and would continue.
The Strait of Hormuz has been at the epicenter of the conflict since Iran began targeting commercial shipping after the war broke out, disrupting global energy supplies and driving up oil prices.
In response, the US military expanded its campaign from targeting Iran's coastal defenses to striking infrastructure deeper inside the country, aiming to diminish Tehran's ability to threaten maritime traffic.
Despite the diplomatic activity, tensions remain high throughout the region.
Meanwhile, the US military said it had disabled a Mozambique-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Oman after it allegedly attempted to violate a US naval blockade of Iranian ports and ignored repeated warnings.
Trump has continued to pair military threats with calls for diplomacy.
"You can just keep doing exactly what we're doing and take them apart piece by piece," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. "Or we can negotiate with them, which we're also doing right now."
The president said he did not believe Iran was yet ready to reach an agreement but suggested Tehran was becoming increasingly serious about negotiations.
"I think they're getting more and more serious as the days go by," he said.
Trump met Friday with senior national security advisers to review the conflict and consider whether to maintain the current military posture or escalate operations further, according to a US official familiar with the discussions.
Despite concerns that higher fuel prices could hurt Republicans in November's midterm elections, Trump insisted political considerations would not dictate his decisions.
"We have to do it right," he said. "Elections take care of themselves."
Reuters adds:
Iran, which had been following each night of U.S. attacks with its own strikes on neighbouring countries that host U.S. bases, has also so far held fire for two days.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Sunday that Trump had decided to pause U.S. attacks to allow more time for diplomacy.
"He's giving talks some space, he's giving it a little bit of room," Waltz said, without providing further details.
The senior Iranian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters: "Iran’s position remains ‘attack for attack’: if the attacks stop, Iran will also halt its operations. That message has already been conveyed to the United States."
The source added: "However, Iran is prepared to mount a broad response should the U.S. launch another attack."
Asked about the pause, a senior official in Trump's administration said on Saturday that the president "has always been clear that his preference is diplomacy, but he has shown Iran what will happen if they fail to come to the table in a serious way."
The senior Iranian source said Tehran did not hold much hope that Trump's decision to pause strikes represented a major shift in the U.S. negotiating position.
"There is more scepticism than optimism about the halt in attacks. The prevailing view is that the pause is tactical rather than genuine. Iran has accumulated enough bitter experience with what it sees as U.S. deception," the source said.
Source: Saudi Gazette and Reuters
