US Ambassador Says President Trump Leaves More Room for Negotiations with Iran

JAKARTA - The United States Ambassador to the United Nations said President Donald Trump had temporarily halted attacks on Iran to make more room for diplomacy.

"He's given space for negotiations, he's given a little space," Mike Waltz told Fox News on Sunday, as reported by Al Arabiya and Reuters (27/7).

Waltz did not provide further details on the nature of the negotiations, but there was a pause over the weekend in the battle between Iran and the United States.

The Pentagon halted its bombing operations after 13 nights of escalating attacks and there were no reports of Iranian attacks on its neighbors over the weekend.

Asked about the suspension, a senior Trump administration official said on Saturday the president "has always been clear that his preference is diplomacy, but he has shown Iran what will happen if they fail to sit down at the negotiating table in good faith."

Meanwhile, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday that Iran would halt its own attacks as long as the United States maintained its attack pause, but added that Tehran remained skeptical of US intentions.

"Iran's position remains 'attack for attack': if the attack stops, Iran will also stop its operations. The message has been conveyed to the United States," the source told Reuters.

"There is more skepticism than optimism about a cessation of attacks. The prevailing view is that the pause is tactical rather than sincere," the source added.

Previously, The New York Times and CNN reported that President Trump had backed down on plans to escalate the war with greater military options after concerns were raised on Friday by some of his advisers, including about whether US missile defense stocks were depleted by protecting US bases in the region.

CNN and the Times both identified Pentagon Chief of Staff Dan Kaine as the person who had expressed these concerns. CNN said Vice President JD Vance had also expressed objections.

Meanwhile, news website Axios reported that President Trump had received plans for an attack on Iran from the Pentagon every afternoon for two weeks and approved them every night, until Friday when the latest plan was presented to him and he decided not to continue it.

President Trump's decision to halt the attacks came at a turning point in the war, with both sides testing the limits of the escalation they had set before a ceasefire ended major fighting in April and a temporary agreement reopened the Strait of Hormuz in June.