US Suspends Iran Bombing as Trump Considers Next Move
The United States has suspended its strikes on Iran for a third consecutive night as President Donald Trump considers whether to restart military operations or pursue further diplomatic efforts to prevent the conflict from escalating.
The pause has coincided with renewed negotiations aimed at easing tensions and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a major global energy route. Oil prices fell on Monday as markets responded to the temporary halt in fighting.
Trump is reportedly weighing both military and diplomatic options in the nearly five-month-old conflict.
His next decision could be influenced by a planned visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected at the White House on Tuesday.
Netanyahu has been critical of US negotiations with Iran and has pushed for continued military pressure on Tehran.
He is also facing political pressure to show that Israel’s military campaigns against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon have achieved significant results ahead of elections scheduled for October.
Iran has also suspended what it described as retaliatory attacks against US allies in the region.
Iranian army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said Tehran’s military response had largely been in retaliation for American attacks and that the operations had now been halted.
Meanwhile, senior US officials have reportedly warned Trump that the country’s stockpiles of key weapons are dwindling.
The supplies reportedly include Patriot missile interceptors and offensive weapons such as Tomahawk cruise missiles.
According to reports, Adm Bradley Cooper, the top US military commander in the region, told Trump that the campaign had reached the limits of its effectiveness and that the US had nearly exhausted its list of planned targets in Iran.
However, Washington has not ruled out a return to military action.
US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Trump was keeping all options open when asked whether further strikes had been ruled out.
The current lull followed nearly two weeks of attacks and the collapse of a ceasefire brokered by Trump.
Washington blamed Iran for attacks on US forces and regional allies, while Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz added to fears of a wider global crisis.
Iranian and Omani officials are reportedly engaged in discussions aimed at reopening the waterway. Tehran has demanded payment and control over which ships are allowed to pass through the strait.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said mediators were working to prevent further escalation.
An Iranian army spokesperson, however, accused Washington of lacking a clear strategy and experiencing what he called “strategic decision-making fatigue.”
Trump reportedly ordered the pause in further strikes after Vice-President JD Vance and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine warned him about the risks of renewing a major military campaign.
The US president has said Washington remains prepared for further action while talks continue.
“We’re locked and loaded and ready to go, but we’re talking to them,” Trump said.
Netanyahu’s visit is expected to test the direction of the diplomatic efforts, with Israel pushing for a tougher US stance on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
American negotiators, meanwhile, have prioritised reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The Israeli prime minister is also travelling to Washington amid renewed violence in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have launched an extensive operation following the deaths of four Palestinians and two Israelis.
The US and Britain are also discussing a possible high-level meeting in London to consider plans to protect ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz and clear mines from the waterway.
The talks will provide an early foreign policy test for Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, whose government has so far refused to allow Washington to use a British airbase for offensive operations against Iran.
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