Iran will suspend its military strikes as long as the United States maintains its pause in bombing operations, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday, raising hopes of a temporary easing in hostilities after nearly two weeks of escalating conflict.
The development follows Washington's decision to halt its air campaign late on Friday after President Donald Trump's advisers reportedly warned that the U.S. military was running out of pre-selected targets and expressed concerns over dwindling munitions supplies.
Since the pause began, neither side has launched fresh attacks for two consecutive days, according to Reuters.
The Iranian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tehran's position "remains ‘attack for attack’: if the attacks stop, Iran will also halt its operations. That message has already been conveyed to the United States." Reuters cited the official as saying Iran views the ceasefire as conditional rather than permanent.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz confirmed President Trump had paused the bombing campaign to create an opportunity for diplomacy.
"He's giving talks some space, he's giving it a little bit of room," Waltz said.
According to Reuters, U.S. military officials have privately warned that the sustained bombing campaign had exhausted many of the designated targets intended to deter Iranian threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important energy chokepoints.
The report said General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had privately cautioned President Trump that resuming large-scale military operations would increase pressure on U.S. weapons inventories, including interceptor missiles deployed across the Middle East.
Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press", Waltz maintained the U.S. military remained fully equipped but acknowledged Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had inherited "a depleted situation" when he took office.
Despite the lull in fighting, the Iranian official told Reuters there was little confidence the U.S. pause represented a lasting change in Washington's negotiating position.
"There is more scepticism than optimism about the halt in attacks. The prevailing view is that the pause is tactical rather than genuine. Iran has accumulated enough bitter experience with what it sees as U.S. deception," the source said.
The conflict has seen U.S. forces conduct nightly strikes against Iranian targets, while Tehran has responded by attacking water desalination facilities in Gulf Arab states that host U.S. military bases.
Iran has repeatedly stated it intends to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of global oil shipments passed before the conflict intensified.
Meanwhile, multiple media outlets reported that President Trump's decision to suspend the bombing followed a high-level meeting on Friday in which senior military and political advisers questioned the effectiveness of continuing the campaign.
CNN reported Vice President JD Vance had expressed reservations, while Axios said Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, recommended halting the strikes after they had reached the limits of their effectiveness.
