US and Iran pause their attacks after days of escalation
[July 27, 2026]
By SAMY MAGDY and CARA ANNA
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.
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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.”
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Anna reported from Lowville, New York. Associated Press writers
Darlene Superville and Ben Finley in Washington contributed.
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