Lull in Iran, US fighting ‘achieved by fresh round of diplomacy’

• Diplomatic sources say Pakistan remained in touch with Tehran, Washington, Riyadh and Beijing during latest US bombing campaign
• Turkish FM reaches out to Qatari, Pakistani leadership
• Waltz says lull in strikes is Trump ‘making room for talks’
• Iran also stops retaliatory attacks on US bases
• US media claims ammunition shortages, generals’ opposition forced president to halt bombing

WASHINGTON / TEHRAN: As US hostilities towards Iran ease, diplomatic sources in Washington said that Pakistan and other mediators had played a significant role in efforts that helped halt the second round of bombing and create conditions for another pause in fighting.

After 13 nights of intensifying US airstrikes on Iran, the Pentagon abruptly suspended the campaign late on Friday, with no attacks reported on either Saturday or Sunday.

Iran, which had been following each night of US attacks with its own strikes on neighbouring cou­n­­­tries that host American bases, has also so far held fire for two days.

Diplomatic sources in the US capital said Pakistan had maintained communication with Tehran, Washington, Riyadh and Beijing during the US bombing campaign, arguing that these channels helped preserve space for diplomacy at a time of heightened tensions.

Islamabad continued diplomatic outreach at multiple levels, they said, including contacts between senior officials, engagement with diplomatic counterparts and discussions with policymakers in Washington.

They maintained that Pakis­tan’s position remained that dialogue was the only sustainable path toward ending the confrontation.

The diplomatic push continued over the weekend, with Turkish media reporting contacts betw­een Foreign Minister Hakan Fid­an and a host of regional leaders, including Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir.

According to the Anadolu news agenc­y, Fidan discussed the negotiation process between Teh­ran and Washington with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul­rahman Al Thani and Pakistan’s army chief.

Fidan held separate calls with PM Al Thani and FM Munir, the news agency quoted Turkish diplomatic sources as saying.

According to Anadolu, Islamabad and Doha have intensified the exchange of messages between the warring sides after Washington and Tehran communicated their responses to a joint formula to end the months-long war.

Depleting ammo?

The diplomatic push was confirmed by the US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Sunday that Trump had decided to pause attacks to allow more time for diplomacy.

While forces remained “locked and loaded”, he said Trump was “giving talks some space… a little bit of room”.

American media reported that Trump called off his campaign of strikes after being advised by top military and civilian aides against further escalating the war he launched alongside Israel in February.

CNN and the New York Times said Pentagon Chief of Staff Dan Caine had pointed to the depletion of stocks of Patriot air defence missiles, which US forces have relied on to defend bases in the Middle East. CNN reported Vice President JD Vance had also expressed reservations.

Plans to escalate the campaign have been shelved in part because of those shrinking supplies, according to NYT. Trump also faces the risk of a wider Middle East war, the estrangement of vulnerable Gulf allies and further shocks to the global economy, the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, Axios reported that the overall commander of US forces in the Middle East, Admiral Brad Cooper, had advised halting the US bombing campaign because it had reached the limits of its effectiveness.

Prior to Friday, the US military had carried out strikes on Iran for 13 consecutive nights, in the largest rekindling of the almost five-month-old war since an April ceasefire. But two consecutive nights have now passed without bombing.

“These attacks continued until two nights ago, but over the past two nights the Americans have stopped their attacks,” said Iran’s army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia. “Since… our strategy has essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory operations.”

Unconfirmed Iranian media reports on Sunday said an oil tanker had been damaged by a sea mine.

With input from Monitoring Desk and Agencies

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2026