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The United States temporarily suspended its attack on Iran for a second day in a row on Sunday, and Tehran said it had done so again, as efforts continue to bring the countries back to talks on a ceasefire deal that has been severely damaged by recent exchanges of fire.
It was not clear why the US paused after targeting Iranian coastal areas and infrastructure nearly two weeks after Iran fired on ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon did not respond to questions Sunday.
US President Donald Trump is “giving the negotiations some space. He's giving a little space,” Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told Fox News. “We have had both Oman and Iran, as well as a number of other negotiators, working at all levels – from the highest levels down to the technical level in the last few weeks, and especially in the last few days.”
Waltz dismissed the idea that the number of US allies critical to preventing an attack on Iran is diminishing, but experts have questioned how long the US and Iran can continue to attack.
As the US suspended the attack two nights ago, Iran has also suspended it, its military spokesman told Iranian state TV on Sunday. Tehran in recent days has attacked countries in the region that host US troops, killing at least three members of the base in Jordan and one in Iraq.
'A positive signal'
The 60-day period that began when the interim deal was signed by the two countries in mid-June is now in its second half, and major issues that were supposed to be discussed – notably Iran's nuclear program at the heart of the conflict – are still on the sidelines as negotiators try to keep the two sides talking.
A regional official involved in mediation efforts said negotiations are continuing and that the suspension of US and Iranian strikes is “a positive sign that helps their efforts to slow down.”
The official said that both countries want to return to the cease-fire agreement and to negotiate for Iran to sail through the Strait of Hormuz with fewer restrictions on ships. The official was not authorized to speak on the matter but asked not to be identified.
Hormuz shipping traffic is down for 3 weeks
Concerns continued about port traffic and now another important waterway in the region, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to the Red Sea. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen last week threatened to block Saudi ships there.
Global energy supplies and the economy remain stagnant as fuel prices rise again.
Commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has declined for three weeks, a maritime agency monitored by the US Navy said on Sunday, adding that no new attacks had been confirmed in the past 72 hours. It said traffic remained stable at Bab al-Mandeb.
Iran on Sunday said it continued to talk with Oman about managing the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which passes between the countries. Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the talks have progressed and are still ongoing.
Baghaei also said that the status of the strait has not changed. Tehran has argued that the interim agreement with the US allows it to manage the shipping for the time being, and has opposed US efforts to support a transit route through Oman instead. The strait was considered an international waterway before the war.
The US Navy said on Saturday that its newly-imposed naval blockade against Iran was continuing, with a dozen commercial vessels diverted, two disabled and two boarded. The US military “remains alert, focused, lethal and ready,” it added.
Netanyahu 'fully' supports Trump
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to travel to the US and meet with Trump in Washington on Tuesday, his office said. They last met in Washington in February, just weeks before they launched a war on Iran that killed top leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah opened fire on Israel two days into the war, and Israel responded with airstrikes and ground troops in southern Lebanon. Since then, the US has supported historic direct talks between Lebanon and Israel to try to ease that conflict and find a way to get rid of Hezbollah.
Netanyahu on Sunday told Fox News that he fully supports Trump's efforts to weaken Iran and pressure it to end its nuclear program, adding: “If he can do that without going back to full-scale war, fine. Why not?”
The prime minister indicated that 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.”
But Netanyahu warned that if Iran attacks Israel again, directly or through armed proxies, “it will make a terrible mistake.”
