A fragile pause took hold in the US–Iran military confrontation on Thursday, as Washington deliberately halted strikes to create space for diplomacy and regional mediators intensified efforts to revive negotiations. According to a US official cited by CNN, the United States is conducting intermittent strikes followed by pauses to avoid escalation and allow diplomatic channels to work, while maintaining a prepared target list as leverage. The official confirmed that no new US strikes occurred on Thursday, describing the situation as “dynamic” and stating that operations could resume if necessary. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, positioned in the Arabian Sea, remained at high readiness, with crews arming fighter jets and pilots conducting training sorties throughout the day and night.

Viewed from Washington, the administration of President Donald Trump frames the recent Iranian attacks on commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz as “acts of terrorism” and a performance failure under the June memorandum of understanding. A US official told Axios that the MoU is “performance-based” and that Iran’s actions represent an unacceptable level of non-compliance. Despite the military exchanges, the same official stressed that the United States remains committed to a diplomatic solution and that technical talks with Iran on nuclear issues are continuing. Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster, in an interview with CBS News, argued that the conflict has entered a new phase, partly because of divergent interpretations of the MoU, particularly regarding Iran’s role in Lebanon.

From the perspective of regional mediators, the priority is to de-escalate and return both parties to the negotiating table. Sources in mediating countries told Axios and CNN that Pakistan and Qatar, which previously facilitated the Swiss talks that produced the MoU, are working intensively with Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Oman to calm tensions. These mediators assess that the recent Iranian attacks in Hormuz were orchestrated by elements within the Iranian regime opposed to the understanding, and they believe that both Washington and Tehran still wish to prevent the MoU’s collapse. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held separate phone calls with his Turkish, Omani and Saudi counterparts to discuss the situation, while Iran’s parliament speaker warned that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen only on Tehran’s terms. Shipping traffic through the strait has plummeted: only seven vessels entered the Gulf in 24 hours, compared with a post-MoU daily average of 34 and a pre-conflict average of around 110.

The current pause follows two nights of reciprocal strikes. The US military reported hitting 90 targets along the Iranian coast, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed to have targeted US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and elsewhere. Israeli officials shared intelligence with Washington about an alleged new Iranian plot to assassinate Trump, though US intelligence agencies have not independently verified the information and some officials expressed scepticism. The mediators’ immediate goal, according to a regional source, is to secure agreement on de-escalation and then set a date for a new round of technical negotiations. The dossier remains poised between a diplomatic track that both sides publicly say they support and a military posture that keeps the option of further strikes open.