JNN 26th July 2026, Tehran / Washington : US President Donald Trump has held off attacks on Iran over concerns that the Pentagon is running low on air-defense missiles.

Iran will halt its own attacks as long as the United States maintains its latest pause on air strikes, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday, after President Donald Trump abruptly called off ‌his two-week-old bombing campaign.
US Military advisers reportedly warned Trump that expanded operations could dangerously deplete US Patriot interceptor stocks.

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

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

On Thursday, Trump threatened Iran and the Houthis with “major military punishment” after the Yemen-based group struck two Saudi oil tankers, telling Axios he was considering a “massive attack” against Iran that would be “bigger than ever before.”

According to the article published on Saturday, the decision followed a meeting with senior advisers and cabinet officials a day earlier that reportedly focused on the Pentagon’s shrinking inventory of Patriot interceptors and other air defenses. Two people briefed on the discussion told the outlet that officials also feared a wider regional war, alienating Gulf allies vulnerable to Iranian retaliation, a global economic downturn, and growing energy and refugee crises.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine reportedly warned that major operations were feasible but would dangerously deplete the interceptors available to US Central Command. His spokesman declined to comment when approached by the outlet.

“Few if any in Mr. Trump’s inner circle believed the plan to escalate was wise,” the NYT wrote, citing two people briefed on the discussion. One senior US official argued that further strikes were keeping Iran cohesive and focused on an external threat rather than forcing negotiations.
An analysis in April by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that the initial campaign consumed at least 45% of America’s Precision Strike Missiles, nearly half of its Patriot interceptors, more than half of its THAAD missiles, and around 30% of its Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Earlier this week, the NYT and Wall Street Journal cited US officials as saying that Iranian missiles are becoming increasingly effective at penetrating US defenses because of their speed and maneuverability, as well as Iran’s evolving tactics.

The senior Iranian source, ⁠speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters: “Iran’s position remains ‘attack for attack’: if the attacks stop, Iran will also halt its operations. That message has already been conveyed to the United States.”
The source added: “However, Iran is prepared to mount a broad response should the U.S. launch another attack.”
Last Friday, three US soldiers were killed in Jordan when a ballistic missile penetrated US air defenses. A fourth soldier died in Iraq while ordnance from a downed Iranian drone was being destroyed.

The IRGC has also claimed that Iranian strikes disabled US radar, communications, and air-defense systems in Kuwait, including a Patriot battery, and damaged several MQ-9 drones. Neither Washington nor Kuwait has confirmed the claims.

No US strikes were reported overnight into Saturday, marking the first pause after 13 consecutive nights of attacks.

The senior Iranian source said Tehran did not hold much hope that Trump’s decision to pause strikes represented a major shift in the U.S. negotiating position.

“There is more scepticism than optimism about the halt in attacks. The prevailing view is that the pause is tactical rather than genuine. Iran has accumulated enough bitter experience with what it sees as U.S. deception,” the source said.

The New York Times and CNN both reported that Trump had backed off plans to escalate the war with even bigger military options after concerns were raised on Friday by some of his advisers, including over whether U.S. missile defence stocks were running low from protecting U.S. bases in the region.

CNN ⁠and the Times both identified Pentagon Chief of Staff Dan Caine as having raised such concerns. CNN said Vice President JD Vance also had expressed reservations.

News site Axios reported that Trump had been receiving plans for strikes on Iran from the Pentagon every afternoon for two weeks and signing off on them each night, until Friday when the latest plan was presented to him and ⁠he decided not to go ahead.

Trump’s decision to pause strikes has come at a turning point in the war, with both sides testing the boundaries of escalation that they set before a ceasefire ended major fighting in April and the interim agreement reopened Hormuz in June.

U.S. forces have already struck bridges and tunnels in southern Iran, prompting Iran to ⁠strike water desalination plants that nearby Gulf Arab states rely on to make their desert cities habitable.

Over the past week, Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen have announced a blockade on Saudi oil in the Red Sea, potentially shutting a second major chokepoint for energy shipping.

That pushed the benchmark Brent crude price above $100 for the first time since May. On Saturday, the Houthis fired on Saudi Red Sea oil targets for the first time in years.