US holds fire against Iran, and nobody knows why
Live Events A regional official calls the pause a 'positive signal' Shipping traffic on the strait is at a 3-week low Netanyahu says he 'fully'
Live Events A regional official calls the pause a 'positive signal' Shipping traffic on the strait is at a 3-week low Netanyahu says he 'fully' backs Trump's efforts as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Addas a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Cairo: The United States and Iran paused their attacks for a second straight day Sunday, as efforts continued to bring them back to negotiations on an interim ceasefire deal largely undermined by recent exchanges of fire.It was not clear why the U.S. has paused after targeting Iranian coastal areas and infrastructure in a nearly two-week escalation sparked by Iran's firing at ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon did not respond to questions.U.S. President Donald Trump is "giving talks some space. He's giving it a little bit of room," Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told Fox News. "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 dismissed the idea that the U.S. stockpile of interceptors crucial in defending against Iranian attacks is running low, but experts have questioned how long both the U.S. and Iran can afford to keep up attacks.Since the U.S. has halted attacks for the past two nights, Iran has as well, its army spokesperson told Iran's state TV on Sunday.
Tehran in recent days has counterattacked against countries in the region hosting U.S. military forces, killing at least three service members at a base in Jordan and one in Iraq.The 60-day period that began when the interim deal was signed by both countries in mid-June is now well into its second half, and major issues that were meant to be negotiated -- notably Iran's nuclear program at the heart of tensions -- remain set aside as mediators try to keep both sides talking.A regional official involved in mediation efforts said diplomacy was underway and that a pause in U.S. and Iranian strikes was a "positive signal that helps their efforts to de-escalate."The official said both countries want to return to the interim ceasefire deal and that a compromise being negotiated centers on having Iran run vessel transit through the Strait of Hormuz with fewer restrictions on ships. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.Concerns continued about shipping on the strait and now on another crucial waterway in the region, the Bab al-Mandeb strait to the Red Sea. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen last week threatened a blockade of Saudi shipping there.Global energy supplies and the economy remain in the balance as gasoline prices have risen again.Commercial shipping traffic on the Strait of Hormuz was at a three-week low, a maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Sunday, adding that no new attacks had been confirmed in the past 72 hours.
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