US Pause on Iran Holds as Tehran Warns of a Wider War
The United States held off from striking Iran for a second consecutive day, and Tehran suspended its retaliation, extending a fragile pause in a two-week war that has convulsed the Gulf. Oil tumbled around 5 per cent on renewed hopes of negotiations. Yet Iran’s army warned the conflict would “expand geographically” if Washington resumed its bombing, accusing Israel of trying to drag the United States back in.
An Iranian army spokesman, Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, said any renewed American campaign would draw retaliation stretching “from US bases in Jordan to the countries along the Persian Gulf” and the Bab el-Mandeb strait. A senior Iranian source said Tehran would hold its fire as long as Washington did the same, while Oman continued to mediate over reopening the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump has signalled he is willing to talk. The truce remains unwritten, and mistrust runs deep on both sides. Watch whether the pause hardens into formal negotiations or collapses back into strikes.