Iran Stops Strikes in Response to US Pause

The Iranian military has announced it will stop retaliatory strikes on US allies in the Gulf as long as President Donald Trump does not attack Iran.

PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier that the US had been attacking military and civilian targets in Tehran for 13 days before suddenly stopping. Both countries have not launched strikes since Saturday, which is the first time in over 13 days.

US Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Sunday that President Trump has chosen to reconsider diplomatic talks.

He said Mr Trump is “giving talks some space; he’s giving it a little bit of room.”

In reply, Iran’s army spokesman, Mohammad Akraminia, stated they will also stop strikes that have mainly targeted Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan in the last 13 days.

“These attacks continued until two nights ago, but over the past two nights the Americans have stopped their attacks,” Mr Akraminia said.

“Since… our strategy has essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory operations,” he added.

Reuters quoted another Iranian official who said Tehran’s position remains “attack for attack”: if the attacks stop, Iran will also stop its operations. That message has already been sent to the United States.

The two countries began their back-and-forth attacks earlier this month over disagreements about control of the Strait of Hormuz. This important waterway has been at the center of the conflict since February.

They paused military actions and agreed to reopen the strait in mid-June. But Iran’s attacks on tankers in Hormuz and the US’s retaliatory strikes in early July brought back the tension.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, shared that the country had several talks on Friday and Saturday to discuss managing the waterway.

However, when Mr Waltz was asked if Mr Trump had fully ruled out escalating the war, he replied, “I wouldn’t go that far at all. The president is keeping all options on the table.”