Trump pauses strikes on Iran, gives talks 'some space'

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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here's today's news:

Iran War

President Trump directed the U.S. military not to conduct new strikes in Iran on Friday, breaking a nearly two-week streak in daily attacks, two sources said.

"We're talking to [the Iranians] right now. I think they're getting more and more serious as the days go by. We're locked and loaded and ready to go, but we're talking to them," Trump told reporters.

Two sources told Axios that Trump's decision came after a meeting with his top advisers, in which Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, recommended stopping the bombing campaign around the Strait of Hormuz because it had reached the limit of its effectiveness. Cooper reportedly said a possible next step would be to resume major combat operations to finish the 20% of targets the U.S. military designated but did not strike during Operation Epic Fury. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.

The private deliberations on Friday also focused on the Pentagon's shrinking inventory of Patriot interceptors and other air defenses, Trump administration officials said. One senior official told the New York Times that resuming major combat operations with Iran was unlikely to drive Iran back to the negotiating table. The official said the strikes have had the opposite effect of what was intended, keeping Iran cohesive and allowing Iranian leaders to focus attention on an external threat. Eric Schmitt and Jonathan Swan report.

Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said yesterday that Trump is giving ongoing talks with Iran "some space" as he considers whether to escalate attacks. Waltz also pushed back on reports that Trump's decision to pause strikes and back away from escalation was driven in part by concerns about depleted U.S. munitions. Sammy Westfall and Suzan Haidamous report for the Washington Post.

Iran will halt its own attacks as long as the United States does the same, a senior Iranian official told Reuters yesterday. Since the Pentagon suspended strikes late on Friday, Iran also held fire over the weekend. The Iranian official added that Tehran did not hold much hope that Trump's decision to pause strikes represented a major shift in the U.S. negotiating position. Parisa Hafezi, Phil Stewart, and Raphael Satter report.

Iranian state-affiliated media reported yesterday that an oil tanker exploded after hitting a mine in the Strait of Hormuz. Sammy Westfall and Suzan Haidamous report for the Washington Post.

U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is more interested than his father and predecessor in pursuing a nuclear weapon, according to officials briefed on the assessments. U.S. officials caution that most of the intelligence on Mojtaba Khamenei's views comes from before the war. Julian E. Barnes reports for the New York Times.

The United States and the United Kingdom are planning to convene a high-level meeting in London this week that will focus on a potential international coalition to protect maritime shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, two European diplomats and two other sources said. A White House official confirmed the U.S. and U.K. want to convene the conference this week. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.

Iran War – Yemen

Ship traffic through Bab-el-Mandeb fell yesterday after the Houthis attacked Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea Coast, shipping data from Kpler showed today. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group struck sites belonging to Saudi state oil company Aramco in the cities of Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday. Eleven commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Sunday, the lowest level in months, according to the shipping data. Florence Tan reports for Reuters.