The United States and Iran completed a third day without directly attacking one another while mediators worked on negotiations and a shipping mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz, even as drones struck or approached targets across the region. Associated Press reporting said the United States and Iran had gone three days without directly attacking one another by Monday, following nearly two weeks of renewed American strikes and Iranian counterattacks against countries hosting U.S. forces.
Two regional officials involved in mediation said the United States and Iran were being moved toward negotiations and that the progress was significant; neither government announced direct talks, a signed ceasefire or a final negotiating agenda before the edition cutoff. President Donald Trump said the United States was having good talks with Iran and described a chance for an agreement, while also warning that American strikes could resume if the process failed to produce an acceptable result.
Iranian officials continued to deny that direct negotiations were underway. Iran and Oman were instead discussing a technical mechanism for commercial passage through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has asserted control and the United States has backed a route nearer Oman. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones launched by Iran-backed Iraqi militias toward petroleum facilities and Riyadh. Houthi forces in Yemen separately claimed attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, and Jordan said it shot down two drones without identifying their origin.
Two drone attacks were reported against an Iranian Kurdish dissident group in northern Iraq on Monday, adding another active theater to a conflict already affecting Gulf states, the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters reported that the pause in direct U.S.-Iran attacks reduced immediate market fears but did not restore normal commercial flows. Trump and Iranian officials each framed their restraint as conditional rather than permanent.
No mediator published a joint text defining prohibited actions, the status of Iran-aligned armed groups, the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, inspection authority or enforcement rules for commercial vessels. The Strait of Hormuz normally carries roughly one-fifth of globally traded oil, while the Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and has become more important as Saudi exporters divert shipments away from Hormuz. Iran-backed militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen have their own command structures and stated objectives, so the absence of direct U.S.-Iran fire does not establish that every aligned force has accepted the same pause.
Earlier interim arrangements in the war have broken down after disputed attacks and incompatible claims over navigation, inspections and military activity, leaving the current pause dependent on conduct rather than a published enforcement mechanism. As of the edition cutoff, The complete terms under discussion, the chain of responsibility for every drone and the durability of restraint by the United States, Iran and aligned groups were not independently established. The next scheduled factual records include whether mediators publish a negotiating framework or shipping protocol and whether direct and proxy attacks remain suspended through the next operational cycle.