According to the American news website Axios, two people familiar with the matter revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump instructed the U.S. military on Friday (the 24th) to suspend new attacks against Iran, ending a situation where attacks were carried out almost daily for 13 consecutive days. It is currently unclear whether this decision was made temporarily or indicates that the U.S. military will continue to suspend its actions.
According to sources, Trump's decision indicates both his willingness to provide more room for diplomatic mediation and his realization by the US side that the current intensity of air strikes has reached its limits without relaunching large-scale military operations. However, the US military is still developing plans for potentially relaunching large-scale military actions, and if ordered, the military can resume attacks in a relatively short time.
In the past two weeks, Trump has approved military strike plans almost every afternoon, with the related operations typically beginning within hours. On Friday, Trump received another similar plan, but did not approve it. Instead, he explicitly asked the military to stop the attacks.
Shortly after giving this directive, Trump told reporters at the White House that the United States could still choose to continue or even intensify its attacks, including “destroying everything Iran has.” However, he believed that a more “wise strategy” would be to reach an agreement with Iran. He said that the United States was in contact with Iran, and that “we are ready, with our weapons loaded,” but were still willing to resolve issues through negotiation. Later that day, Trump said that he believed Iran was not yet ready to reach an agreement, “but I am willing to listen to what they have to say.”
Israeli officials said that the Israeli Security Cabinet and military had initially anticipated a new round of strikes by the United States on Friday, and even prepared for possible large-scale bombings by the U.S. forces, which could lead to Iran's retaliation against Israel. Due to their inability to fully understand the American plan, the Israeli military remained highly alert until they learned in the evening of Friday that Trump had not approved further strikes.
Hours before Trump ordered a pause in the attacks, a delegation from Oman arrived in Tehran to negotiate with Iran regarding new arrangements for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Two regional sources said that progress had been made in the negotiations, and it is possible that Oman and Iran will reach an agreement over the weekend. At that time, Trump will decide whether to accept the proposed deal.
