US, Iran Pause Attacks After Escalation07/27 06:19

   The United States and Iran paused their attacks for a second straight day 
Sunday, as efforts continued to bring them back to negotiations on an interim 
ceasefire deal largely undermined by recent exchanges of fire.

   CAIRO (AP) -- The United States and Iran paused their attacks for a second 
straight day Sunday, as efforts continued to bring them back to negotiations on 
an interim ceasefire deal largely undermined by recent exchanges of fire.

   It was not clear why the U.S. has paused after targeting Iranian coastal 
areas and infrastructure in a nearly two-week escalation sparked by Iran's 
firing at ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon did not 
respond to questions.

   U.S. President Donald Trump is "giving talks some space. He's giving it a 
little bit of room," Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, 
told Fox News. "We've had both Oman and Iran, and a number of our other 
negotiators, engaged at every level, from the most senior levels all the way 
down to the technical level over the past few weeks, and particularly in the 
past few days."

   Waltz dismissed the idea that the U.S. stockpile of interceptors crucial in 
defending against Iranian attacks is running low, but experts have questioned 
how long both the U.S. and Iran can afford to keep up attacks.

   Since the U.S. has halted attacks for the past two nights, Iran has as well, 
its army spokesperson told Iran's state TV on Sunday. Tehran in recent days has 
counterattacked against countries in the region hosting U.S. military forces, 
killing at least three service members at a base in Jordan and one in Iraq.

   A regional official calls the pause a 'positive signal'

   The 60-day period that began when the interim deal was signed by both 
countries in mid-June is now well into its second half, and major issues that 
were meant to be negotiated --- notably Iran's nuclear program at the heart of 
tensions --- remain set aside as mediators try to keep both sides talking.

   A regional official involved in mediation efforts said diplomacy was 
underway and that a pause in U.S. and Iranian strikes was a "positive signal 
that helps their efforts to de-escalate."

   The official said both countries want to return to the interim ceasefire 
deal and that a compromise being negotiated centers on having Iran run vessel 
transit through the Strait of Hormuz with fewer restrictions on ships. The 
official was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of 
anonymity.

   Shipping traffic on the strait is at a 3-week low

   Concerns continued about shipping on the strait and now on another crucial 
waterway in the region, the Bab al-Mandeb strait to the Red Sea. Iranian-backed 
Houthi rebels in Yemen last week threatened a blockade of Saudi shipping there.

   Global energy supplies and the economy remain in the balance as gasoline 
prices have risen again.

   Commercial shipping traffic on the Strait of Hormuz was at a three-week low, 
a maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Sunday, adding that no new 
attacks had been confirmed in the past 72 hours. It said traffic remained 
steady through the Bab el-Mandeb.

   Iran on Sunday said it continued to speak with Oman about managing the safe 
passage of ships on the Strait of Hormuz, which passes between the countries. 
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said talks had made 
progress and continued.

   Baghaei also said the strait's status remained unchanged. Tehran has 
asserted that the interim deal with the U.S. allows it to manage shipping on 
the waterway for now, and it has objected to U.S. efforts to support a route 
through the strait that passes close to Oman instead. The strait was considered 
an international waterway before the war.

   The U.S. military on Saturday said its recently reimposed naval blockade 
against Iran continued, with a dozen commercial ships redirected, two disabled 
and two boarded. U.S. forces "remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and 
ready," it added.

   Netanyahu says he 'fully' backs Trump's efforts

   Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to travel to the 
United States and meet with Trump in Washington on Tuesday, his office has 
said. They last met in Washington in February, weeks before they launched the 
war on Iran that killed senior leaders including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali 
Khamenei.

   The Iranian-backed Hezbollah fired at Israel two days after the war began, 
and Israel responded with airstrikes and ground forces in southern Lebanon. 
Since then, the U.S. has supported landmark direct talks between Lebanon and 
Israel to try to calm that front and find a way to disarm Hezbollah.

   Netanyahu on Sunday told Fox News he "fully" backs Trump's efforts to weaken 
Iran and press it to end its nuclear program, adding: "If he can do so without 
returning to intense military fighting, that's fine. Why not?"

   The prime minister indicated he would not present new information to "our 
good friend" Trump and instead would listen to "what he has in mind, because I 
think in many ways, it's his decision."

   But Netanyahu warned that if Iran again attacks Israel, directly or with 
armed proxies, "it will make a terrible mistake."