The U.S. paused strikes on Iran over the weekend following nearly two weeks of consecutive nightly attacks.
Questions remain about where the war will head next, but the pause in strikes comes after Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns to President Donald Trump about escalating the war. Caine reportedly highlighted negative implications regarding the U.S. munitions stockpile, but it's unclear whether the stockpile concern or the warning of further escalation were responsible for why the U.S. paused strikes.
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Nonetheless, following the meeting, President Trump posted several artificial intelligence images over the weekend showing the U.S. targeting Iran. One showed an Iranian ship with the caption "Goodbye, Engine Room." Another said "Strike on Kharg," a reference to Iran's main oil export terminal.
On Monday, President Trump said Iran had asked to resume ceasefire talks “because we’ve been hitting them very hard.”
“We’re having good talks, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters. “I think there’s a good chance that something could happen. And if it does, good. if it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago.”
Iran says no such direct talks are ongoing, but Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Monday that “mediators may convey messages to us from the American side.”
One official told the Associated Press the progress between the U.S. and Iran was "significant." One point of potential progress involved a way to oversee vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of killing a sailor by attacking an Iranian vessel.
"Zelenskyy has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor," Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a statement. "A blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel's behest to drag Europe into its war. In calls with EU High Rep Kallas and FM Lavrov, made clear that what the freeloader in Kyiv did CANNOT GO UNANSWERED."
Zelenskyy admitted to some military action, saying he recently saw "very strong results with long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea — including vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran."
The developments could risk two of the world's biggest conflicts colliding.
