President Donald Trump on July 26 ordered a pause of U.S. attacks on Iran for a second straight day, and Iran said it had also stopped its attacks, as efforts to negotiate a deal have intensified following nearly two weeks of consecutive daily strikes over control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the White House and Iranian state media.
The decision was confirmed by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and White House communications director Steven Cheung on July 26.
“President Trump has always been consistent in saying he prefers a diplomatic solution, but he continues to retain all options if Iran continues terrorist activities in the Strait of Hormuz or against allies,” Cheung told media outlets.
He warned that it “would be wise for Iran to work toward a negotiated deal”; otherwise, Tehran will see “what will happen.”
An Iranian army spokesperson told Iran’s state television on July 26 that Iran had halted its own attacks over the same two nights that U.S. strikes stopped.
Iran in recent days had struck at countries in the region hosting U.S. forces, killing at least three service members at a base in Jordan and one in Iraq.
The U.S. military has confirmed 13 consecutive days of attacks against Iran’s military capabilities, after Iran attacked commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American forces in the Middle East, has been confirming strikes against Iranian targets, but it has not issued any such statements since July 23.
“American forces remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready,” the command said in a July 25 post on X.
A U.S. naval blockade against Iran is still in effect, the command said in the post. So far, 12 commercial ships attempting to bypass the blockade have been redirected, two have been disabled, and two have been boarded, it said.
Meanwhile, Waltz told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” that Trump is “keeping all options on the table” during the pause. He said that the administration “wouldn’t go that far at all” when asked whether the American president has decided against an escalation.
“What the president is doing right now, as we’ve seen all along, is giving some talks some space,” Waltz said. “Talks are ongoing, they’re happening at every level.”
“Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker asked Waltz whether the Iran war would be over by the start of the new year. In response, Waltz made reference to decades of Iranian attacks and hostility against the United States, while stressing that he will not “put some kind of timeline on it.”
Iran told state-run media on July 26 that it continued to speak with Oman about managing the safe passage of ships on the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the two countries. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, told Fars News that talks had made progress.
“The two sides discussed shared principles and operational mechanisms for ensuring the safe transit of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, while honoring the sovereign rights of the two coastal nations,” he said.
Iran also said the strait’s status remained unchanged and that it is currently closed, according to a separate Fars News report. Tehran has claimed that an interim deal with the United States, signed last month before the recent round of strikes, allows it to manage shipping on the waterway.
Tehran has objected to Trump administration efforts to support a separate route through the strait, saying that ships can only pass through a route that it approves.
As of the afternoon of July 26, Trump had not commented on the pause in strikes on social media or to media outlets.
Chase Smith and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
