Iran Says It Halted Retaliation After US Paused Airstrikes, Raising Prospect of Talks

Iranian Military Spokesman Says Retaliatory Operations Stopped After US Halted Airstrikes

Iran said on July 26 that it had halted retaliatory attacks on US allies in the Middle East after Washington stopped airstrikes on Iran for a second straight day.

Mohammad Akraminia, a spokesman for Iran's military, said US attacks had continued until the night of July 24 but had stopped over the past two days. Iran's military strategy is fundamentally retaliatory, he added, so it had also suspended its retaliatory operations.

The halt in nightly US airstrikes, which had continued for about two weeks, and Iran's decision to stop retaliatory attacks have raised the possibility that negotiations could resume. Still, US media reports said the pause may reflect pressure from dwindling stockpiles of defensive weapons such as Patriot interceptor missiles.

CNN previously reported, citing an unnamed Pentagon official, that President Donald Trump had warned of intense strikes on July 24 but that US military operations against Iran remained on hold. The New York Times also reported, citing multiple sources, that declining US munitions inventories were among the factors slowing any expansion of military operations.

Su-rim Park, Hankyung.com reporter paksr365@hankyung.com