A senior Iranian official is signaling that Iran will hold off on further military action as long as the United States keeps its current pause on air strikes in place — a development that comes after President Donald Trump abruptly called off a two-week bombing campaign.
Following 13 straight nights of escalating U.S. air strikes on Iran, the Pentagon suddenly suspended the campaign late Friday. No American attacks were reported on either Saturday or Sunday. Iran, which had been responding to each night of U.S. strikes with its own attacks on neighboring countries that host American military bases, has also held its fire for two days.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, appeared on Fox News Sunday and said Trump chose to pause the strikes to allow more time for diplomatic efforts. “He’s giving talks some space, he’s giving it a little bit of room,” Waltz said, though he offered no additional specifics.
The senior Iranian official, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, described Tehran’s stance plainly: “Iran’s position remains ‘attack for attack’: if the attacks stop, Iran will also halt its operations. That message has already been conveyed to the United States.”
The source went on to warn that Iran remains ready to respond forcefully if the situation changes. “However, Iran is prepared to mount a broad response should the U.S. launch another attack,” the official said.
A senior Trump administration official addressed the pause on Saturday, saying the president “has always been clear that his preference is diplomacy, but he has shown Iran what will happen if they fail to come to the table in a serious way.”
Despite the halt in strikes, the Iranian source expressed deep skepticism about what it actually means. “There is more scepticism than optimism about the halt in attacks. The prevailing view is that the pause is tactical rather than genuine. Iran has accumulated enough bitter experience with what it sees as U.S. deception,” the source said.
U.S. forces had been striking Iran nightly, with Washington describing the campaign as retaliation for Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz — the world’s most critical route for energy shipments. Iran has stated its intention to maintain control over the strait.
The two-week military campaign effectively collapsed last month’s interim agreement, which had been aimed at ending a war launched by the United States and Israel in February. A ceasefire had halted major fighting in April, and the interim deal had reopened the Strait of Hormuz in June.
Both The New York Times and CNN reported that Trump pulled back from plans to escalate the conflict with larger military options after concerns were raised Friday by some of his advisers. Among those concerns, according to both outlets, was whether U.S. missile defense stockpiles were running low due to the demands of protecting American bases in the region. Both CNN and the Times identified Pentagon Chief of Staff Dan Caine as someone who raised those concerns. CNN also reported that Vice President JD Vance had expressed reservations.
News outlet Axios reported that Trump had been reviewing Pentagon strike plans every afternoon for two weeks and approving them each night — until Friday, when he was presented with the latest plan and chose not to authorize it.
The pause arrives at a critical juncture. U.S. forces have already struck bridges and tunnels in southern Iran, prompting Iran to retaliate by hitting water desalination plants that Gulf Arab nations depend on to supply their desert cities with fresh water.
Adding further pressure to the situation, Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen announced a blockade on Saudi oil shipments in the Red Sea over the past week, potentially closing off a second major chokepoint for global energy shipping. That development pushed benchmark Brent crude oil prices above $100 per barrel for the first time since May. On Saturday, the Houthis carried out strikes on Saudi Red Sea oil targets for the first time in years.
