Trump Halts US Strikes on Iran, Gulf States Turn Up Diplomatic Efforts

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump can still issue an order to carry out an attack on Iran, with the situation in the region still volatile amid a pause in bombing military operations.

RIA Novosti on Monday, July 27, citing The Wall Street Journal, quoting US officials, reported that Trump postponed plans to sharply increase military operations against Iran due to concerns that escalation could drain dangerously depleted stocks of air defense missiles.

Trump administration officials said Gulf countries, including Oman and Qatar, are trying to revive the diplomatic process, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, July 26.

Meanwhile, Axios reported last Saturday, the US military is still preparing contingency plans to return to large-scale military action against Iran, even though President Donald Trump has not issued the order.

According to the report, Trump ordered a halt to further attacks on Friday, ending a 13-day series of consecutive attacks.

On the eve of June 18, Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict that began on February 28. However, since July 8, US forces have launched several series of attacks against Iran.

The US Central Command (US Central Command) stated that the attack was a response to Iran's actions against commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian forces responded by launching attacks on US bases in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, on July 12, Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz until the US stopped its intervention in the region, after a wave of mutual attacks between the two parties in the conflict.

A day later, Trump said the United States would be the "guardian" of the Strait of Hormuz. He also reimposed a US blockade on Iranian ports.