The United States has hit the brakes on its bombing campaign against Iran for the second straight night. Both Washington and Tehran appear open to reviving diplomatic discussions, following almost two weeks of heightened military tensions.
The decision for a pause came after senior US military officials advised President Donald Trump that the bombing campaign had reached its peak efficiency. They also cautioned that American stockpiles of crucial munitions were dwindling.
US Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, confirmed to Fox News that Trump had called off the strikes to facilitate negotiations. Meanwhile, an Iranian official informed Reuters that Tehran would abstain from retaliatory measures as long as the US maintained its ceasefire.
The Iranian official emphasized, “Iran’s stance is ‘attack for attack’: if the strikes stop, Iran will cease its operations too,” while stressing that Iran is ready to respond if US attacks resume.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, indicated that messages are still being conveyed through mediators to Washington, though he accused the US of previously “betraying” negotiation efforts.
Strikes before the pause
Before the latest pause, the United States carried out a 13th consecutive night of strikes on Friday, targeting what the military said were Iranian command centres, drone storage facilities and maritime capabilities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iranian state media reported at least four people were killed in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, while Tehran responded by launching drones and missiles towards US military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
Authorities in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait said their air defence systems intercepted many of the attacks.
Mounting cost of conflict
The pause comes as the financial and military toll of the conflict continues to grow.
Repeated Iranian attacks on US military bases across the Middle East have left parts of Washington’s regional military network heavily damaged, with analysts warning the conflict has exposed vulnerabilities once considered unthinkable.
The attacks have hit facilities in Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, with defence experts saying they have exposed vulnerabilities in sites once considered secure, and signalled a new chapter for the US’s longstanding military strategy in the Middle East.
According to Pentagon figures, the war has already cost the United States US$37.5 billion ($53.6 billion), with politicians approving further military spending as concerns mount over the long-term impact on America’s defence capabilities.
Senior military officials have reportedly warned the campaign has stretched US weapons stockpiles, particularly missile defence systems and other high-value munitions, while repeated Iranian strikes have damaged military bases across the Middle East.
Analysts say the attacks have exposed vulnerabilities in facilities that were once considered secure, prompting some defence experts to describe the conflict as marking the “end of an era” for longstanding US military dominance in the region.
The conflict has also taken a heavy human toll, with the Pentagon reporting the deaths of 18 US service members since the war began.
Fresh tensions after Ukraine vessel strike
Meanwhile, another flashpoint has emerged after Iran accused Ukraine of attacking one of its merchant vessels in the Caspian Sea.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the strike, alleging it had been carried out “at Israel’s behest” and warning the attack “cannot go unanswered”.
In a post on X, Araghchi described the strike as a “blatant UN Charter violation”.
Iran says the explosion aboard the vessel killed one sailor and injured another. Ukrainian officials have said they targeted ships transporting military cargo linked to Iran and Russia.
The incident adds another layer of complexity to an already volatile regional conflict, even as indirect messages continue to be exchanged between Tehran and Washington in an effort to keep the current pause in fighting from collapsing.