Iran has said it will suspend its military attacks as long as the United States maintains its pause in airstrikes, signalling a potential opening for diplomacy after nearly two weeks of escalating conflict.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that Tehran’s position remained one of reciprocity, stressing that Iran would halt its operations if the United States ceased its attacks.
“Our 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 official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The development follows the Pentagon’s decision to suspend its bombing campaign against Iran late on Friday after 13 consecutive nights of airstrikes. No US attacks were reported on Saturday or Sunday. Iran, which had responded nightly by targeting neighbouring countries hosting US military bases, has likewise refrained from launching attacks over the same period.
The pause came after President Donald Trump’s advisers reportedly warned that the US military was running out of viable targets and expressed concerns over the depletion of American munitions.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz confirmed on Sunday that Trump had opted to give diplomacy a chance.
“He’s giving talks some space, he’s giving it a little bit of room,” Waltz said during appearances on Fox News Sunday and other US television programmes.
US military officials, speaking anonymously, said the intensive bombing campaign—launched in response to Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz—had largely exhausted the list of pre-selected targets.
Although military officials said resuming large-scale combat operations remains an option, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine reportedly advised Trump that renewed strikes would carry significant risks, particularly due to dwindling supplies of precision-guided munitions and interceptor missiles used by US air defence systems in the Middle East.
Caine’s office and US Central Command declined to comment on the reported discussions, maintaining the long-standing military practice of not disclosing private advice given to a sitting president.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Waltz insisted the US military remained fully capable of sustaining operations.
“The military has everything that it needs,” he said, while adding that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth inherited a depleted stockpile when he assumed office under the Trump administration.
Despite the pause, Tehran remains unconvinced that Washington has fundamentally changed its approach.
Another senior Iranian source told Reuters that officials in Tehran viewed the suspension of airstrikes with scepticism rather than optimism.
“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 US deception,” the source said.
For the past two weeks, US forces had conducted nightly strikes against Iranian targets, saying the operations were retaliation for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by launching strikes on water desalination facilities in Gulf Arab states while maintaining that it sought to preserve control over the strategic waterway, through which about one-fifth of global oil supplies passed before the conflict intensified.
The renewed US military campaign effectively derailed an interim agreement reached last month that had been aimed at ending hostilities.
According to multiple US media reports, Trump’s decision followed a high-level meeting on Friday during which senior military and political advisers questioned the effectiveness of continuing the bombing campaign.
CNN reported that Vice President JD Vance expressed reservations about extending the strikes, while Axios said Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US forces in the Middle East, recommended halting the campaign after concluding it had reached the limits of its effectiveness.
Meanwhile, uncertainty continues to weigh heavily on ordinary Iranians.
Nader, a 49-year-old import-export business owner in Tehran, said the temporary lull had done little to ease public anxiety.
“Everyone in the country is stuck in limbo,” he told Reuters by telephone. “Trump is playing games with Iran. He neither ends the war and leaves the region nor strikes decisively. It’s exhausting.”
Boluwatife Enome
