US-Iran Strike Pause Enters Third Night Amid Hormuz Talks

The United States has now gone three consecutive nights without launching strikes on Iran, a shift that followed nearly two weeks of sustained American attacks on Iranian targets and a series of retaliatory strikes from Tehran. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Sunday that the halt was intended to give ongoing diplomatic efforts space to develop, while Iranian officials confirmed they had stopped their own operations in response.

The pause comes after US military operations that began in late February and included repeated strikes on Iranian positions, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz. That waterway remains effectively closed to normal traffic, with Iranian state media reporting that several vessels attempted passage over the weekend only to turn back or encounter unspecified problems. Tehran has framed its restraint as conditional on the continuation of talks, primarily conducted through Oman, though officials in Tehran have stressed that no direct negotiations with Washington are underway.

Pentagon data released over the weekend showed 18 US service members killed and 624 wounded since the campaign began, with more than 140 of the wounded added in the most recent update. Those figures reflect the intensity of Iranian responses targeting US positions in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and elsewhere in the region. At the same time, multiple outlets have reported that US air defense interceptors, including Patriot and THAAD systems, have been used at a high rate to protect American bases and personnel. Administration officials, including Waltz, have rejected suggestions that munitions shortages prompted the pause, insisting the military retains sufficient stocks to continue operations if needed. President Trump has similarly stated that the United States possesses far more munitions than required for the current effort.

The decision to pause also coincides with shifting market signals. Oil prices fell below 90 dollars per barrel on Monday after briefly reaching 100 dollars the previous week. Analysts have attributed the drop in part to reduced fears of an immediate widening of the conflict and the prospect that the Strait of Hormuz could eventually reopen under negotiated terms.

Domestic political reaction has been uneven. Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky argued on social media that the conflict had depleted missile defenses, drawn down strategic oil reserves, raised consumer prices and added to the national debt, all while advancing interests he described as primarily Israeli. Massie, who lost his primary earlier this year to a Trump-backed challenger, has been among the more consistent Republican voices questioning the scope of US involvement.

Third-party actors have played visible roles in the latest diplomatic push. China has encouraged a return to talks in Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia conducted its own strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen after renewed attacks on Red Sea shipping. Ukraine separately struck an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, an action Tehran condemned as unrelated to the current conflict.

The current lull does not resolve the underlying disagreements over the Strait of Hormuz or the broader terms that might stabilize the region. Both governments have kept additional military assets in motion, and officials in Washington continue to describe all options as remaining on the table. For now, the pause has created a narrow window in which negotiators are attempting to convert a temporary halt into something more durable.