US PAUSES IRAN STRIKES AS PENTAGON REPORTS 18 TROOPS KILLED

The United States has paused military strikes against Iran for a third consecutive night as top Pentagon officials advised President Donald Trump to halt the bombing campaign, according to reports. The Pentagon updated its official casualty database over the weekend, recording that 18 US troops have been killed and 624 wounded since the US launched military operations against Iran on 28 February. Oil prices fell on Monday as markets responded to the pause in combat. Iran said on Sunday it would pause what it described as retaliatory attacks against US allies in the region.

Admiral Bradley Cooper, the top US military commander in the region, advised Trump that the US military campaign had reached the limits of its effectiveness. The New York Times reported that Trump also paused plans to escalate attacks due to concerns about depleting the Pentagon's stockpile of missile interceptors and other air defence munitions in the Middle East. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told Fox News on Sunday that the President was "giving talks a little bit of room", noting that negotiators have been engaged at every level over recent days. CBS reported, quoting two regional sources, that the US decision to pause bombing was made following the arrival of an Omani delegation in Tehran.

Diplomatic efforts continue despite significant obstacles. Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told Austrian broadcaster ORF that mediators including Qatar and Pakistan are exchanging messages between Iran and the US, though he stated that Iran's past diplomatic efforts have been "betrayed". Iranian officials noted that Iran and the US have engaged in periods of negotiation during previous attacks. Trump is said to be weighing diplomatic and military options in the nearly five-month-old conflict.