The United States and Iran did not carry out attacks for a second straight day on Sunday, as efforts continued to bring both sides back to negotiations on an interim ceasefire deal that has been weakened by recent exchanges of fire. The pause came after nearly two weeks of escalation triggered by Iran’s firing at ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
While the reason for the US pause was not immediately clear, Washington said talks were being given room to move forward. Tehran also said it had halted attacks since the US stopped its strikes over the past two nights, even as major issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme, remain outside the current negotiations.
The Pentagon did not respond to questions on Sunday on why the US had paused after targeting Iranian coastal areas and infrastructure. Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told Fox News that President Donald Trump is “giving talks some space. He’s giving it a little bit of room”. He added, “We’ve had both Oman and Iran, and a number of our other negotiators, engaged at every level, from the most senior levels all the way down to the technical level over the past few weeks, and particularly in the past few days.”
Waltz also rejected suggestions that US interceptor stockpiles used against Iranian attacks were running low, though experts have raised questions over how long both sides can sustain the fighting. Iran’s army spokesperson told state television that Tehran had also stopped attacks since the US pause began. In recent days, Iran had carried out counterattacks on countries in the region hosting US forces, killing at least three service members at a base in Jordan and one in Iraq.
The 60-day period that started when the interim deal was signed in mid-June is now well into its second half. But the key issues that were meant to be negotiated, especially Iran’s nuclear programme, have been set aside as mediators try to keep both sides engaged. A regional official involved in mediation said diplomacy was continuing and described the pause in strikes as a “positive signal that helps their efforts to de-escalate”.
The official, who was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said both countries want to return to the interim ceasefire deal. According to the official, the compromise under discussion centres on Iran managing vessel transit through the Strait of Hormuz with fewer restrictions on ships.
Concerns over shipping continued in the Strait of Hormuz and in the Bab el-Mandeb strait leading to the Red Sea, after Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen last week threatened a blockade of Saudi shipping there. Global energy supplies and the wider economy remained under pressure as petrol prices rose again. A maritime body overseen by the US Navy said commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had fallen to a three-week low on Sunday, though no new attacks had been confirmed in the past 72 hours. It said traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb remained steady.
Iran said on Sunday that it was continuing talks with Oman on safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between the two countries. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the discussions had made progress and were continuing. He also said the status of the strait remained unchanged. Tehran has said the interim deal with the US allows it to manage shipping on the waterway for now, and it has objected to US efforts to support a route through the strait that runs close to Oman. Before the war, the strait was regarded as an international waterway.
The US military said on Saturday that its recently reimposed naval blockade against Iran was continuing, with 12 commercial ships redirected, two disabled and two boarded. It added that US forces “remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready”.
Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to travel to the United States and meet Trump in Washington on Tuesday, according to his office. The two last met in Washington in February, weeks before they launched the war on Iran that killed senior leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Two days after the war began, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah fired at Israel, which responded with airstrikes and ground operations in southern Lebanon. Since then, the US has backed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel aimed at calming that front and finding a way to disarm Hezbollah.
Netanyahu told Fox News on Sunday that he “fully” backs Trump’s efforts to weaken Iran and push it to end its nuclear programme, saying, “If he can do so without returning to intense military fighting, that’s fine. Why not?” He said he would not bring new information to “our good friend” Trump and would instead listen to “what he has in mind, because I think in many ways, it’s his decision.” He also warned that if Iran attacks Israel again, directly or through armed proxies, “it will make a terrible mistake”. Overall, the pause in attacks has opened space for diplomacy, even as tensions over shipping, military moves and the future of the interim deal remain unresolved.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
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