US holds fire against Iran as media reports suggest dwindling stockpiles

The United States refrained from carrying out airstrikes on Iran on Sunday, pausing a war that is approaching its fifth month. Media reports indicate that worries over shrinking munitions stockpiles are limiting plans for further escalation. There were also no reports over the weekend of Iranian retaliatory strikes on countries in the region hosting US military assets.

The lull has revived hopes for a return to negotiations after nearly two weeks of consecutive nightly US bombardments, though US media suggested the pause could also reflect pressure on inventories of Patriot interceptors and other defensive weapons. Fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz derailed diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran, but the conflict has since expanded beyond the vital energy corridor to include attacks on US bases, regional shipping, and Gulf allies.

CNN reported, citing an unidentified Pentagon source, that US operations against Iran are "on a hold," even as President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a "much higher level" of strikes. The New York Times reported that plans to escalate the campaign have been shelved in part due to those shrinking supplies, citing two people briefed on the matter. Trump also faces the risk of a wider Middle East war, the estrangement of vulnerable Gulf allies, and further shocks to the global economy.

Vice President JD Vance and top US General Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalation at a White House meeting on Friday, CNN reported. Caine told Trump the military could carry out the options available to him successfully but warned of the possible implications. Trump said on Friday he had not decided whether to return to an all-out operation: "We're talking to them right now. I think they're getting more and more serious."

The war, which Trump once predicted would last four or five weeks, is now nearing its fifth month and is weighing on the Republican's approval ratings ahead of crucial US midterm elections in November. The Pentagon had presented Trump with a plan for a 14th night of strikes, but he declined to authorize it in favor of a push for talks, Axios reported.

Fighting has meanwhile spread to a new front. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they struck Saudi Aramco sites in Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday, a day after Riyadh bombed Houthi targets. A surface-to-air battery operated by Greek personnel in Saudi Arabia downed two ballistic missiles and a drone over Yanbu. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had stopped four ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz in 24 hours. Tehran's effective blockade of the waterway remains the central flashpoint with Washington.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran could not be blamed for the escalation and offered to broker talks between the Houthis and Riyadh, saying "there is no military solution." Separately, Iran's Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, saying one sailor was killed and another wounded. The ministry summoned Ukraine's chargé d'affaires in Tehran to protest over an attack it described as "hostile and criminal." The denunciation coincided with comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Kyiv had noted reports that Russia was passing on to Iran its satellite observations in the Middle East to enable it to direct strikes in the region.