The United States has halted its two-week bombing campaign against Iran, which was aimed at breaking Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has stated that it is still in control of the strait and is not seeking to resume peace talks with the US.

Background

The US bombing campaign was launched in response to Iran’s actions in the strait, which the US sees as a threat to global oil supplies. The campaign killed scores of people in Iran and destroyed bridges and tunnels across the south, as well as military targets. Four US service members were also killed by Iran’s return fire against US bases in neighboring Arab states.

Iran has said that it will pause its own attacks for as long as the US pause in bombing endures. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, said that President Donald Trump had paused the campaign to allow room for negotiations. However, the spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, said that Iran had not asked to resume peace talks with the US.

Implications

The halt to the US bombing campaign leaves no clear indication of what leverage Washington can exert to achieve Trump’s aim to break Iran’s grip on the strait. The US and Iran had reached an agreement in June on a framework for talks meant to take place by the end of August to resolve major issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran aims to formalize its control over the strait by reaching an agreement with Oman, which controls the opposite shore. A senior Omani delegation was in Tehran over the weekend discussing the future of the strait. The foreign ministers of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia each had held phone calls to discuss the strait with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.