President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military to halt airstrikes against Iran, ending 13 consecutive days of attacks, after scaling back plans for a significant escalation over concerns that Pentagon Patriot interceptor stocks would be depleted.
The pause was decided during a meeting on Friday with top advisers, where Vice President JD Vance and General Dan Caine expressed concerns about further escalation, according to CNN. The order came hours after an Omani delegation arrived in Tehran to negotiate over the Strait of Hormuz. White House communications director Steven Cheung said Trump prefers a diplomatic solution while keeping all options open.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is flying to Washington to meet Trump on Tuesday and present intelligence on Iran's nuclear program. A senior Israeli official said a U.S.-Iran deal is "practically nonexistent" and further escalation "inevitable."