A senior Iranian official, speaking anonymously to Reuters, said Iran would suspend its military operations as long as the United States halted its attacks.
“Iran’s position remains ‘an attack for an attack.’ If the strikes stop, Iran will also stop its operations. This message has already been conveyed to the United States,” the official said.
The statement came after the Pentagon suspended its military operations against Iran on Friday, following 13 days of U.S. airstrikes. No new American attacks were reported on Saturday or Sunday, while Iran had also refrained from launching attacks on countries hosting U.S. military bases in the region for two consecutive days.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said President Donald Trump decided to pause the strikes to give diplomacy a chance to move forward.
“He is giving diplomacy an opportunity. He is giving it time to produce results,” Waltz said.
U.S. military officials have maintained that the two-week campaign significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities.
A U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said military operations could resume if necessary but warned that doing so would further strain American weapons stockpiles, particularly air defense systems deployed to protect U.S. forces in the Middle East, which have reportedly been depleted.
Despite the temporary pause, Iran said it remains unconvinced that the U.S. decision signals a lasting end to the conflict.
Another Iranian official told Reuters that there is “more skepticism than optimism” in Tehran regarding the suspension of strikes, with many viewing it as a temporary measure rather than a genuine shift in U.S. policy.
“Iran has had bitter experience with what it considers American deception,” the official said.
Over the past two weeks, the United States said its strikes were a response to Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran, however, has insisted it seeks to maintain control over the strategic waterway, through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed before the conflict escalated.
Iran responded by targeting U.S. military facilities across the Middle East.
Analysts say meaningful peace negotiations will require the involvement of international mediators capable of bringing both sides to the table. However, no direct talks between Washington and Tehran have been announced following previous mediation efforts involving Pakistan, Qatar, and other countries, which failed to produce a breakthrough.
