Iran halts strikes as Trump gives space to talks

Iran and the United States held their fire on Monday, handing Gulf shipping and the oil industry a respite from missile strikes as Donald Trump’s UN envoy said the president was “giving talks some space”.

Tehran said it had halted retaliatory attacks against Washington’s allies in the Middle East, and US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told Fox News Sunday that, while forces remained “locked and loaded”, Trump would give negotiations “a little bit of room”.

Fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz derailed diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran, triggering a US air campaign and Iranian reprisals that expanded the conflict to shipping lanes, Gulf allies and military bases across the region.

Prior to Friday, the US military had carried out strikes on Iran for 13 consecutive nights, in the largest rekindling of the almost five-month-old war since an April ceasefire. But Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights passed without bombing.

“Since … our strategy has essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory operations,” said Iran’s army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia.

Oil prices tumbled on Monday as investors breathed cautious sighs of relief at the pause in combat. International benchmark Brent plunged eight per cent to just around US$89 a barrel.