Strikes between the United States and Iran have entered a temporary lull after two weeks. The pause came after US President Donald Trump ordered a halt to attacks, saying "making a deal with Iran is the wiser strategy." The directive was issued shortly after an Omani negotiating team arrived in Iran to resolve the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. While the all-out conflict between the United States and Iran has stopped, the front line appears to be spreading to the Houthi rebels and the Saudi Arabia-led Arab coalition forces.
According to Axios on the 26th, when Trump was briefed by the military on the 24th on a plan for a "14th-day airstrike," he did not approve it and issued an order to "not conduct the airstrike."
Trump's cease-fire order came just hours after the Omani delegation arrived in Iran and held new negotiations on reopening the strait. According to sources familiar with the matter, progress was made in the talks, and an agreement between Oman and Iran could be reached as early as this weekend. However, it remains uncertain whether Trump will accept the proposed agreement.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, "The Iranian and Omani negotiating teams held several rounds of talks over two days starting on the 24th and exchanged views on the principles and operational methods for managing safe vessel passage." He added, "These talks were beneficial and made progress."
With the US and Iranian airstrikes suspended, small-scale clashes between the Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia are escalating. The Houthis, an Islamist armed group backed by Iran, attacked Saudi Aramco-related facilities in the Red Sea port cities of Jizan and Yanbu, as well as two Saudi-linked oil tankers, with missiles and drones. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition responded by striking Houthi rebel positions.
The Houthi rebels survived an approximately seven-year bombing campaign led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and still control the areas where most of Yemen's population lives. As a result, analysts say a new front has opened after the Houthi rebels blockaded the Red Sea and attacked Saudi vessels with missiles. Analysts warned that the situation is a "crisis" that could escalate into all-out war.
Adam Baron, a fellow in the Future Security Program and a policy analyst at the think tank New America, said, "With hostilities between the United States and Iran rising, it is a perfect time for the Houthi rebels to open a new front and join the fight."
