giving it a little bit of room". An Iranian army spokesperson said on Sunday that Tehran had halted "retaliatory" attacks in the region in response. The pause follows nearly two weeks of daily US strikes and tit-for-tat attacks, effectively unravelling the ceasefire struck in June. Oil prices have dropped sharply in the wake of the pause, falling below $90 per barrel on Monday morning after hitting $100 for the first time since May last week.

Asked whether Trump had decided against escalation for now, Waltz told NBC: "I wouldn't go that far at all. The president is keeping all options on the table". Waltz also rejected reports in the New York Times that administration officials had warned expanding hostilities could dangerously drain a diminished stockpile of air defense munitions. "The US military... has everything that it needs to conduct this campaign as effectively as it needs to be", he said. Speaking to CBS, he added: "We'll see over the next coming days. But make no mistake, additional military assets are moving into the region."

"The regime should believe the president when he says they're locked and loaded, and where all options are on the table." As of Monday, Trump had not spoken publicly on the latest developments, but earlier posted computer-generated images on his Truth Social account that depicted US military planes bombing Iranian ships and Kharg island. The pause follows 13 consecutive nights of US strikes on Iran, which Washington said aimed to "degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz".  (BBC)