HEADLINES IN BRIEF

The US and Iran paused their attacks for a second straight day. READ MORE BELOW

A regional official said diplomacy was underway and that a pause in US and Iranian strikes was a "positive signal". READ MORE BELOW

Shipping traffic on the Strait of Hormuz is at a 3-week low. READ MORE BELOW

Netanyahu says he "fully" backs Trump's efforts before meeting. READ MORE BELOW

Iran warns Ukraine of "unforeseen" consequences after ship attack. READ MORE BELOW

Iran says six ships were turned back in strait trying to pass without Tehran's permission.

A US official says military commanders advised Trump they were running out of targets.

Jordan's armed forces said they intercepted and downed two drones on Monday morning.

Iran says it has not asked for resumption of talks with the US.

IN DETAIL

US and Iran pause their attacks after days of escalation

The United States and Iran paused their attacks for a second straight day on Sunday, as efforts continued to bring them back to negotiations on an interim ceasefire deal largely undermined by recent exchanges of fire.

It was not clear why the US had paused after targeting Iranian coastal areas and infrastructure in a nearly two-week escalation sparked by Iran's firing at ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon did not respond to questions.

US President Donald Trump is "giving talks some space. He's giving it a little bit of room," Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told the media.

"We've had both Oman and Iran, and a number of our other negotiators, engaged at every level, from the most senior levels all the way down to the technical level over the past few weeks, and particularly in the past few days."

Waltz dismissed the idea that the US stockpile of interceptors crucial in defending against Iranian attacks is running low, but experts have questioned how long both the US and Iran can afford to keep up attacks.

Since the US has halted attacks for the past two nights, Iran has as well, its army spokesperson told Iran's state TV on Sunday.

Tehran in recent days has counterattacked against countries in the region hosting US military forces, killing at least three service members at a base in Jordan and one in Iraq.

A regional official calls the pause a 'positive signal'

The 60-day period that began when the interim deal was signed by both countries in mid-June is now well into its second half, and major issues that were meant to be negotiated, notably Iran's nuclear program at the heart of tensions, remain set aside as mediators try to keep both sides talking.

A regional official involved in mediation efforts said diplomacy was underway and that a pause in US and Iranian strikes was a "positive signal that helps their efforts to de-escalate".

The official said both countries want to return to the interim ceasefire deal and that a compromise being negotiated centers on having Iran run vessel transit through the Strait of Hormuz with fewer restrictions on ships.

Shipping traffic on the strait is at a 3-week low

Concerns continued about shipping on the strait and now on another crucial waterway in the region, the Bab al-Mandeb strait to the Red Sea. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen last week threatened a blockade of Saudi shipping there.

Global energy supplies and the economy remain in the balance as gasoline prices have risen again.

Commercial shipping traffic on the Strait of Hormuz was at a three-week low, a maritime body overseen by the US Navy said on Sunday, adding that no new attacks had been confirmed in the past 72 hours. It said traffic remained steady through the Bab el-Mandeb.

Iran on Sunday said it continued to speak with Oman about managing the safe passage of ships on the Strait of Hormuz, which passes between the countries. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said talks had made progress and continued.

Baghaei also said the strait's status remained unchanged.

Tehran has asserted that the interim deal with the US allows it to manage shipping on the waterway for now, and it has objected to US efforts to support a route through the strait that passes close to Oman instead.

The strait was considered an international waterway before the war.

The US military on Saturday said its recently reimposed naval blockade against Iran continued, with a dozen commercial ships redirected, two disabled and two boarded.

Netanyahu says he 'fully' backs Trump's efforts

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to travel to the United States and meet with Trump in Washington on Tuesday, his office has said.

They last met in Washington in February, weeks before they launched the war on Iran that killed senior leaders including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Hezbollah fired at Israel two days after the war began, and Israel responded with airstrikes and ground forces in southern Lebanon.

Since then, the US has supported landmark direct talks between Lebanon and Israel to try to calm that front and find a way to disarm Hezbollah.

Netanyahu on Sunday said he "fully" backs Trump's efforts to weaken Iran and press it to end its nuclear program, adding: "If he can do so without returning to intense military fighting, that's fine. Why not?"

The prime minister indicated he would not present new information to "our good friend" Trump and instead would listen to "what he has in mind, because I think in many ways, it's his decision".

But Netanyahu warned that if Iran again attacks Israel, directly or with armed proxies, "it will make a terrible mistake".

Iran warns of 'unforeseen' consequences after Ukraine attack on Caspian Sea ship

Iran's foreign ministry warned on Monday of "unforeseen" consequences following Ukraine's attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea over the weekend.

"This action by Ukraine was an absolutely illegal and unjustified act, contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, as well as a dangerous act of adventurism that will certainly not go unanswered by us," the ministry's spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a weekly press briefing. 

The consequences of Ukraine's action "will certainly be unforeseen", he added. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Kyiv had carried out long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea against vessels transporting military cargo involving Iran.

Iran said the attack had caused the Iranian ship "to explode, killing one sailor and injuring several others", and warned that it would respond.

"The Ukrainian regime must certainly be held accountable for it," Baqaei said.

It comes as India's foreign ministry said on Monday that Ukraine's ambassador was requested to convey New Delhi's strong concerns to Kyiv about the targeting of commercial vessels and reiterated that such actions are "unacceptable and must be avoided".

The Ukrainian envoy to India was summoned by New Delhi over the attack on the commercial vessel MV Omorfi, which was struck on July 18, killing one Indian national.