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The Trump administration paused striking Iran over the weekend, a departure from the last almost-two weeks where attacks were happening nightly. A Department of Defense official told CNN operations are “on a hold.”
The New York Times is reporting the same, writing that Trump has set aside plans to escalate the war.
There are reportedly a few reasons for this: CNN wrote, citing the official, Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalation during a White House meeting on Friday.
Caine brought up concerns about the U.S. munitions stockpile. A source said to CNN that Caine informed Trump and the U.S. military they could carry out various options successfully — but there could be possible implications.
Another concern raised at the meeting was the potential for massive civilian casualties, according to CNN. Trump has, multiple times since the war against Iran began, threatened attacks on civilian infrastructure such as bridges and power plants. Following through on this could make Trump guilty of war crimes and — depending on the scale of civilian harm — genocide, legal, military and human rights experts previously said to Straight Arrow.
Heightened tensions in the Middle East, the war’s economic impact on the globe, the alienation of allies in the Gulf at risk of an Iranian attack, and energy and refugee crises also reportedly made Trump and his aides uneasy.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement to CNN that Trump has been consistent in saying he prefers a diplomatic solution, but the president continues to “retain all options if Iran continues terrorist activities in the [Strait] of Hormuz or against allies.”
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also said Trump is “keeping all options on the table.”
“I’ve spoken with the negotiators. I’ve spoken with [Defense] Secretary Pete Hegseth. What the president is doing right now, as we’ve seen all along, is giving some talks some space,” Waltz said.
Talks are ongoing, Waltz added, from the more technical aspect to the “highest levels” within both the Iranian and U.S. governments.
Asked by “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker about whether the U.S. is backing away from a larger military attack because its weapons stockpile is depleted, Waltz said the U.S. military “has everything that it needs to conduct this campaign as effectively as it needs to be.”
On the topic of whether strikes are halted for the next several days, or whether there may be some in coming days, Waltz reiterated what Trump said Friday: that the U.S. military is “locked and loaded.”
Iran, for its part, said it will stop attacks as long as the United States does, Reuters reported, attributing the comments to a senior Iranian official.
“Iran’s position remains ‘attack for attack’: if the attacks stop, Iran will also halt its operations,” the official said. “That message has already been conveyed to the United States.”
At the same time, “Iran is prepared to mount a broad response should the U.S. launch another attack,” the official told Reuters.
“There is more skepticism than optimism about the halt in attacks,” the official said. “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.”
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