The U.S. ambassador to the UN said that President Donald Trump paused strikes on Iran for the third night in a row to give diplomacy more time. Ambassador Mike Waltz told Fox News that the president was “giving talks some space, he’s giving it a little bit of room.”
An Iranian army spokesperson said on Sunday that Tehran had halted “retaliatory” attacks in the region in response. This comes after the U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes for two weeks, effectively unravelling the ceasefire announced in June.
When asked if Trump had decided against escalation, Waltz told NBC, “I wouldn’t go that far at all. The president is keeping all options on the table.” Waltz rejected reports in the New York Times that administration officials had warned expanding hostilities could dangerously drain a diminished stockpile of air defense munitions.
READ: US gas prices reach $4 a gallon as conflict with Iran renews (July 20, 2026)
“The US military… has everything that it needs to conduct this campaign as effectively as it needs to be,” he said.
He also told CBS “We’ll see over the next coming days. But make no mistake, additional military assets are moving into the region.”
“The regime should believe the president when he says they’re locked and loaded, and where all options are on the table,” he added.
While Trump has not spoken publicly on the latest developments as of Monday. However, he had posted computer-generated images on his Truth Social account that depicted U.S. military planes bombing Iranian ships and Kharg island. The pause comes after 13 years of U.S. strikes on Iran which Washington said aimed to “degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”
READ: Brent crude jumps more than 4% amid latest US-Iran strikes (July 13, 2026)
Meanwhile, Iran and Oman held several hours of technical talks in Tehran on Friday and Saturday. They were discussing management of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei. The Strait, which is part of a key route for the transport of oil and natural gas, has been a focal part of the tensions amid the conflict.
Oil prices had seen a significant rise after the recent renewal of the conflict. Reports from last week mentioned that gas prices rose to $4 per gallon in the U.S., following the launch of new attacks. On Thursday, oil prices rose higher, following reports of attacks on oil tankers off the Saudi coast in the Red Sea.