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Pause for talks
The United States paused its attacks on Iran for a second straight day Sunday, and Tehran said it had done so too, as efforts continued to bring the countries back to negotiations on an interim ceasefire deal largely undermined by recent exchanges of fire.
White House communications director Steven Cheung said, "President (Donald) Trump has always been consistent in saying he prefers a diplomatic solution," while adding that the president "continues to retain all options" if Iran continues "terrorist activities in the Strait of Hormuz or against allies."
Iran’s army spokesperson told Iran’s state TV on Sunday that, since the U.S. has halted attacks for the past two nights, Iran has as well.
The pause came amid a nearly two-week escalation sparked by Iran’s firing at ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, and it left mediators trying to keep both sides talking during a 60-day period that began when the interim deal was signed in mid-June.
A regional official involved in mediation efforts described the pause as a "positive signal that helps their efforts to de-escalate," while saying a compromise being negotiated centers on having Iran run vessel transit through the Strait of Hormuz with fewer restrictions on ships.
Drones and mediation
Mediators achieved progress in getting the United States and Iran back to negotiations, regional officials said Monday, after both sides paused attacks following a period of rapidly escalating tensions.
Saudi Arabia said it had shot down drones fired by Iran-backed militias in Iraq that had targeted its petroleum facilities, while Iran and Ukraine were publicly feuding after Ukraine fired on at least one Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea over the weekend.
Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told Fox News that the president was "giving talks some space. He's giving it a little bit of room," and he dismissed the idea that the U.S. stockpile of interceptors is running low.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said during a news conference in Tehran on Monday that "mediators may convey messages to us from the American side" but that there were no direct negotiations.
A regional official who spoke to AP on Monday described the progress made in mediation efforts as "significant," saying mediators were working with Iran and Oman on a mechanism for managing vessels’ transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Shipping stakes rise
As the pause extended, concerns continued about shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb strait to the Red Sea, with global energy supplies and the economy described as remaining in the balance as gasoline prices have risen again.
The U.S. military on Saturday said its recently reimposed naval blockade against Iran continued, with a dozen commercial ships redirected, two disabled and two boarded, while U.S. forces "remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready," it added.
Iran said it continued to speak with Oman about managing the safe passage of ships on the Strait of Hormuz, and Esmail Baghaei said talks had made progress and continued while also saying the strait’s status remained unchanged.
The BBC reported that the pause followed nearly two weeks of daily U.S. strikes and tit-for-tat attacks that effectively unravelling the ceasefire struck in June, and it said oil prices dropped sharply in the wake of the pause, falling below $90 per barrel on Monday morning after hitting $100 for the first time since May last week.
Iran’s army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia warned on state television that the Middle East war would "expand further" if Washington chose to continue attacking Iran, arguing the conflict had already expanded to the Bab al-Mandab strait and that the "scope of our operations now encompasses the entire region" from U.S. bases in Jordan to countries along the Persian Gulf.
