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The United States announced no new strikes on Iran for a second consecutive night on Sunday, and Tehran paused its retaliatory attacks on American allies in the region, CBS News reported. The mutual pause follows 13 consecutive nights of US bombing and marks the quietest stretch in two weeks of fighting.
Regional officials told CBS News the bombing pause was deliberate, intended to give in-person diplomacy room to work. Omani officials traveled to Tehran on Friday, a development we reported Sunday, and negotiators met again on Saturday. The White House and US Central Command did not respond to the network's requests for comment.
Iran says the talks are producing results. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iranian and Omani deputy foreign ministers held several rounds of negotiations in Tehran on Friday and Saturday, Agence France-Presse reported. He said the discussions focused on "common principles and operational mechanisms" for the safe passage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Two regional sources told CBS News the talks are moving in a positive direction but need more time to produce a deal.
The strait remains the central dispute. A June memorandum of understanding briefly eased the crisis before collapsing, and Washington opposes an Iranian and Omani proposal to charge service fees for transit. Commercial tanker traffic through Hormuz fell sharply last week, according to data from the intelligence firm Kpler cited by CBS News. Some vessels used a northern route designated by Iran rather than the US-sanctioned southern route.
The fighting has not stopped everywhere. Houthi forces in Yemen say their blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait remains in effect after the group struck two Saudi-flagged tankers in the Red Sea on Wednesday. The US naval blockade of Iranian ports, reinstated last week, also continues, with US forces disabling a vessel that repeatedly ignored warnings. CBS News also cited reports that concerns over dwindling munitions stocks have factored into decisions about further escalation.
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