US and Iran delay further strikes after two weeks of escalation | Today’s news
(Bloomberg) — The U.S. suspended nearly two weeks of strikes against Iran for a second night, while the Islamic Republic signaled it would refrain from any retaliatory strikes and held talks with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz.
After striking Iran for 13 days, the United States has apparently held back since Friday without any explanation or announcement, raising questions about President Donald Trump’s next move. Iran’s military said on Sunday that Tehran had halted its response as a result.
“The United States may have come up with other scenarios for the coming days, but the current situation is not what they want,” spokesman Mohammad Akraminia told state television. “If the Americans insist on continuing the war and airstrikes, the geography of the war will expand,” he added.
The reassurance came as a weekend meeting between Iranian and Omani officials signaled a new attempt to resolve the crucial issue of shipping around Hormuz, the global choke point at the heart of the conflict that the US and Israel began in late February.
With traffic on this key waterway essentially paralyzed, skirmishes between Yemen’s Houthi militants and Saudi Arabia have also raised tensions over another, the Bab el-Mandeb in the southern Red Sea.
The Iran-backed Houthis said they fired missiles and drones at facilities linked to oil giant Saudi Aramco in the port cities of Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday. There was no immediate confirmation from the Saudi government or Aramco.
Saudi authorities briefly issued emergency warnings before saying the danger had passed. The Saudi-led coalition responded by striking Houthi military positions later Saturday, according to Yemen TV, which is affiliated with the country’s internationally recognized government.
The escalation in the Red Sea will compound the already severe pressure on regional energy flows caused by the near-total shutdown of traffic through Hormuz, which previously carried a fifth of global oil supplies.
On Friday, the Saudi-led coalition struck the port from which the Houthis’ naval attacks in the Red Sea usually originate. The Houthis also announced they would block Saudi ports and attacked three oil tankers connected to Saudi Arabia at sea.
Any permanent disruption to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea export routes, through which it sends millions of barrels of oil a day as a solution, particularly from Yanbu, would likely push oil prices even higher.
Brent crude has risen around 27% in the past two weeks as clashes between the US and Iran worsened and the Houthis effectively opened a second front in the war. The global benchmark closed at $96.78 per barrel on Friday.
Trump, increasingly frustrated with Iran for refusing to reopen Hormuz, said late Friday that the US was “locked and loaded” for major strikes against Iran. He added that he had not yet decided whether to proceed, after telling Axios a few days ago that he was considering a “massive attack”.
The New York Times reported that Trump and his advisers have decided to shelve plans to escalate US strikes for now, partly out of concern that the war could drain the region’s already dwindling stockpile of Patriot anti-missile and other air defense weapons.
Trump has consistently said he “prefers a diplomatic solution, but continues to reserve all options if Iran continues terrorist activities in the Strait of Hormuz or against allies,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. For Iran, it would be “wise to pursue a negotiated agreement.”
One ally described the president as in revenge mode against Iran, while others said he was trying to recover from Tehran the costs of a war that has driven up energy prices and put Republicans in a political bind ahead of the November midterms.
Trump said at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Friday night that Iran would “like to do a deal” but he didn’t think “the time was yet.”
He also said the warring parties were talking, though his administration offered few details.
The representatives of the foreign ministers of Iran and Oman met in Tehran on Friday and Saturday to discuss the management of maritime navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Islamic Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in Telegram.
“The talks were constructive and some progress was made,” Baghaei said, without giving details. He said technical and political consultations are ongoing and the traffic situation in the strait has not changed.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told Bloomberg on Thursday that there is a “concrete proposal” regarding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz that is being discussed and could lead to de-escalation.
Egypt has been in contact with Oman about the initiative, which will be the subject of further talks between Iran and Oman, he said, without elaborating.
The Houthi’s apparent new aggression in the Red Sea came despite a shaky ceasefire between the Saudi kingdom and Yemen, which has been in a 12-year civil war.
The Houthis survived a roughly seven-year bombing campaign led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and still control areas containing the majority of Yemen’s population of more than 40 million people.
Iran is the main backer and sponsor of the Houthis, although the group is more autonomous than other proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
How Iran Expands Its Power Through Allied Militant Groups: A QuickTake
–With help from Salma El Wardany.
(Update with comments from the Iranian military from the first paragraph.)
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