US-Iran strikes pause for 2nd night as mediators push for deal
Pause after two weeks of US bombardment raises hopes for renewed talks, with Pakistan and Qatar shuttling messages between Washington and Tehran
WASHINGTON (MNTV) — A second consecutive night passed without reported US or Iranian strikes on Sunday, after two weeks of sustained bombardment, as Pakistan and Qatar stepped up mediation to secure a broader de-escalation between Washington and Tehran.
No explosions or US air raids were recorded across Iran overnight into Sunday after the previous night also passed without announced strikes.
The pause follows two weeks of US attacks on military infrastructure, coastal surveillance systems, missile and drone facilities, naval assets, and logistics sites, according to US Central Command. On Saturday, Trump directed the US military not to launch new strikes on Iran, ending nearly two weeks of daily attacks, Axios reported, citing sources familiar with the decision.
Iran framed its own halt as a direct response. Military spokesperson Amir Mohammad Akraminia described Tehran’s approach as “retaliatory deterrence,” saying that once the Americans stopped their attacks over the past two nights, Iran’s counter-operations stopped as well — a pause tied to the suspension of US strikes rather than a settled de-escalation.
The stakes of that bombardment were laid out Thursday, when Iran’s Health Ministry said 57 people had been killed and 629 wounded in the latest wave of US attacks.
The lull comes as the mediators intensify their exchange of messages, after both sides communicated responses to a joint formula to end the months-long war. Islamabad and Doha proposed the formula earlier in the week, urging both to return to their pre-July 9 positions “as a first step” toward resuming stalled talks.
Iran confirmed it received the proposals and is reviewing them, while reaffirming its commitment to diplomacy.
The diplomacy is an attempt to revive what already collapsed once.
Washington and Tehran signed a Qatari- and Pakistani-brokered memorandum of understanding in June that included a ceasefire and a path to negotiations, but Trump declared the ceasefire over on July 8 amid renewed escalation.
The core dispute remains unresolved: Washington demands that Tehran stop attacking commercial shipping and guarantee free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran insists that transits be governed by a mechanism it administers along its own coastline.
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