By AFP | Posted by TOE

Iran passed another night without US airstrikes on Sunday, as Washington paused a war nearing its fifth month and reports emerged that concerns over dwindling munitions were restraining plans for further escalation.

The lull has revived hopes of a return to negotiations after nearly two weeks of consecutive nightly US bombardments, although US media reported the pause could also reflect pressure on stockpiles of Patriot interceptors and other defensive weapons.

Fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz derailed diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran, but the conflict then expanded beyond the vital energy corridor to include attacks on US bases, regional shipping and Gulf allies.

Iran’s army warned on Sunday that the war would widen even further if the US chose to press ahead with attacks, ahead of a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington on Tuesday.

“If the Americans once again fall for the Zionists’ deception, or move in line with them, and insist on continuing the war, particularly through air strikes, geographically this will expand further,” army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia told state television.

Meanwhile, US operations against Iran were “on a hold”, CNN reported, quoting an unidentified Pentagon source, even as US President Donald Trump threatened a “much higher level” of strikes on Friday. 

Plans to escalate the campaign have been shelved in part because of those shrinking supplies, The New York Times reported, citing two people briefed on the matter.

Trump also faces the risk of a wider Middle East war, the estrangement of vulnerable Gulf allies and further shocks to the global economy, the newspaper said. 

Vice President JD Vance and top US general Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalation at a White House meeting on Friday, CNN reported. 

Caine told Trump the military could carry out the options available to him successfully but warned of the possible implications, according to the network. 

– ‘Much higher level’ –

Trump said on Friday he had not decided whether to return to an all-out operation. 

“We’re talking to them right now. I think they’re getting more and more serious,” he told journalists. 

Trump said Iran faced a choice between a deal and strikes at a “much higher level”. 

The war that Trump once predicted would last four or five weeks is now nearing its fifth month, and is weighing on the Republican’s approval ratings ahead of crucial US midterm elections in November.

The Pentagon had presented Trump with a plan for a 14th night of strikes but he declined to authorise it in favour of a push for talks, Axios reported. 

– New front –

Fighting has meanwhile spread to a new front. 

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they struck Saudi Aramco sites in Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday, a day after Riyadh bombed Houthi targets.

A surface-to-air battery operated by Greek personnel in Saudi Arabia downed two ballistic missiles and a drone over Yanbu, the Greek air force media office said.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran could not be blamed for the escalation and offered to broker talks between the Houthis and Riyadh, saying “there is no military solution”.

On Sunday, Iran’s armed forces stopped six vessels attempting to transit the Hormuz strait over the past 24 hours after warnings, according to state television.

Tehran’s effective blockade of the waterway remains the central flashpoint with Washington.

Iran said on Sunday it had made progress in talks with neighbouring Oman on “common principles and operational mechanisms” for shipping in the Strait.

In June, Oman and Iran said they would discuss imposing service fees, a move Washington opposes, but Muscat also said ships could transit Hormuz via its waters, angering Tehran, which responded with a pattern of escalation.