U.S. and Iran Pause Strikes After Two Weeks of Escalation, but Tehran Tests Ceasefire with Drone Attacks on Neighbors

The United States and Iran have paused their escalating military strikes after 13 nights of intense U.S. bombing. U.S. officials, including UN Ambassador Mike Waltz, state the pause is meant to give diplomacy space, amid internal military warnings that the U.S. is running out of targets and depleting critical air defense interceptors. However, Tehran has tested the pause with drone attacks on neighbors like Saudi Arabia and Jordan, while asserting it maintains total control over the closed Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, global oil prices have tumbled below $90 a barrel following the halt in strikes.

US-Iran bombing pause

• ▪The United States and Iran paused their escalating military strikes over the weekend of July 25-26, 2026, marking a halt to 13 consecutive nights of U.S. bombing.
• ▪Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq reported drone attacks on July 27, 2026, testing the newly established pause in U.S.-Iran military strikes.
• ▪An Iranian army spokesperson announced on July 26, 2026, that Tehran halted its retaliatory attacks in the region in response to the U.S. pause.
• ▪U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz stated on July 26, 2026, that President Donald Trump paused the bombing campaign to allow space for diplomatic negotiations.

Military resource depletion concerns

• ▪U.S. military commanders advised President Donald Trump to suspend the bombing campaign because they were running out of designated targets in Iran.
• ▪U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz dismissed reports that the U.S. military's stockpile of air defense interceptors was running dangerously low.
• ▪Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine privately cautioned that resuming major combat operations against Iran would dangerously deplete Central Command's stockpile of air defense munitions.

Ukraine Caspian Sea strikes

• ▪Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatened retaliation on July 26, 2026, following a reported Ukrainian missile strike on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea.
• ▪The Caspian Sea strike by Ukrainian forces killed one Iranian sailor and injured another on an Iranian commercial vessel.
• ▪Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on July 25, 2026, that Ukrainian forces carried out long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea against a Russian warship and vessels transporting Iran-linked military cargo.

Strait of Hormuz control

• ▪Iranian state media reported that Iranian forces turned back six vessels on July 27, 2026, that attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz without Tehran's permission.
• ▪The U.S. military stated on July 25, 2026, that its naval blockade against Iran continued, with a dozen commercial ships redirected, two disabled, and two boarded.
• ▪Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stated on July 27, 2026, that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and that Iran will not allow the U.S. to determine the timing of war and peace.

American war duration expectations

• ▪A CBS News/YouGov poll indicated that 57% of Americans feel frustrated about the conflict with Iran, while only 19% feel optimistic.
• ▪A CBS News poll found that more than half of Americans believe the U.S.-Iran war will continue for many months or even years.

Global economic disruption effects

• ▪The United Nations Development Program warned that a severe shock to the fossil-fuel-reliant global economy from the Iran war could push 45 million more people into poverty.
• ▪International benchmark Brent crude oil prices fell below $90 per barrel on July 27, 2026, dropping around 6.5% to 7% following the pause in U.S. airstrikes.