RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesOil prices fall as US and Iran pause their attacks for a second straight day
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President Donald Trump has paused attacks on Iran to resume negotiations through diplomatic channels, said US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz.
Waltz told Fox News on Sunday that Trump was "giving talks some space; he's giving it a little bit of room".
His statement comes as the US and Iran paused their attacks for a second straight day Sunday, as efforts continued to bring them back to negotiations on an interim ceasefire deal largely undermined by recent exchanges of fire.
Waltz also told CBS that dialogue with Iran was “continuing at every level, from working-level staff to the highest ranks”. CNN previously cited a source to say Trump’s military operations were “on a hold.”
Meanwhile, an oil tanker exploded after hitting a mine in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s state-affiliated Tasnim news agency said.
Tasnim said the tanker struck the mine after leaving the route designated by Iran in the strategic waterway. There was no immediate official statement from Iranian authorities regarding the incident.
Oman and Iran had reportedly taken part in “productive” talks surrounding the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said.
The Pentagon acknowledged an additional 142 service members wounded in president Donald Trump's Iran war by quietly adding a new category to its online database of US military casualties.
The change also resulted in the restoration of four fatalities that had been removed from the Defense Casualty Analysis System , triggering outrage among military families, veterans and lawmakers.
The new category, titled "Overseas Operations," tallies casualties — including the deaths of 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, Pvt. Isabella Gonzales and Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton —inflicted by Iran since 7 July, when fighting resumed following a fragile ceasefire that began 8 April.
He told Fox News that Trump was "giving talks some space; he's giving it a little bit of room".
Asked whether 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."
Iran's deputy foreign minister has accused the US of protecting Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu from the International Criminal Court.
Kazem Gharibabadi said Netanyahu, who has an arrest warrant issued against him by the ICC, claimed that the US secretary of state promised to take action against the court.
"They call the ICC 'corrupt' because it dared to pursue Washington's preferred criminal," Gharibabadi wrote in a post on X.
Oil prices tumbled 5 per cent this morning after the US and Iran paused strikes over the weekend after two weeks of attacks, raising hopes of a diplomatic solution that would de-escalate the conflict.
Brent crude futures fell $4.89, or 5.05 per cent, to $91.89 after briefly slipping under the key support level of $90 earlier in the session.
US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $84.64 a barrel, down $4.67, or 5.23 per cent.
Americans are not buying Donald Trump’s predictions that the Iran war is nearing its end, nor do they believe that Iran has lost the will or the means to keep fighting.
And one of his top advisers is no longer sticking to that timeline, either.
UN ambassador Mike Waltz appeared on NBC, and unlike other senior Trump administration officials who’ve appeared on the Sunday circuit previously, the ambassador would not commit to the war ending before the end of 2026.
"I'm not going to put some kind of timeline on it,” said Waltz.
U.S. gas prices will continue climbing for weeks — and maybe months — due to the resumption of President Donald Trump’s war against Iran, experts warn.
Patrick DeHaan, petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, said Friday on social media that while oil prices were “taking a breather for today” after recently surging by $20 a barrel, he’s still expecting the national average cost of a gallon of gas to soon reach $4.20 to $4.30.
The US paused its its attacks on Iran for a second day on Sunday and Tehran said it had done so too.
It was not clear why the US has paused attacks after targeting Iranian coastal areas and infrastructure in a nearly two-week escalation sparked by Iran’s firing at ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions.
“President Trump has always been consistent in saying he prefers a diplomatic solution, but he continues to retain all options if Iran continues terrorist activities in the Strait of Hormuz or against allies," White House communications director Steven Cheung said.
“It would be wise for Iran to work toward a negotiated deal. Otherwise, they know what will happen.”
Since the US has halted attacks for the past two nights, Iran has as well, its army spokesperson told Iran’s state TV on Sunday.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Saturday that they fired missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi airstrikes on the strategic Red Sea city of Hodeida, in another escalation over vital shipping routes in the Middle East while the United States and Iran vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesman, said in a prerecorded statement that the attack targeted facilities in the Red Sea cities of Yanbu and Jizan that belong to Aramco, the world’s largest oil company.
Saudi Arabia's civil defense said alerts sounded multiple times early Saturday in both cities, but the Kingdom hasn't commented further.
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