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45m ago

U.S.-Iran Fighting Pauses Overnight as Blockade and Red Sea Attacks Keep Tensions High

The short halt in nightly strikes opens a fragile diplomatic window that could shut quickly if blockade enforcement or Houthi attacks escalate.

A woman walks past a mural depicting a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S. and Israel strike on Feb. 28, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement on American nuclear innovation in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 24: U.S. President Donald Trump salutes during the National Anthem at the re-scheduled White House Correspondents Dinner in the Presidential Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria on July 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. The annual gala, hosted by the White House Correspondents Association, was re-scheduled to tonight after the original event in April was cut short when an armed man, later identified as Cole Tomas Allen, attempted to get past a Secret Service checkpoint. (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)

Overview

  • U.S. forces did not report strikes overnight on Saturday after 13 straight nights of attacks, a pause described by multiple outlets as the first break in roughly two weeks.
  • Washington has reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and U.S. Central Command says it has fired on and disabled at least two commercial vessels that tried to breach the blockade.
  • Iran and its proxies have continued to strike regional targets and commercial ships, with the IRGC and Houthi forces hitting Gulf and Red Sea routes and Saudi strikes hitting Houthi sites in Hodeidah.
  • Diplomatic exchanges continue through mediators such as Oman, Pakistan and China and President Trump says Iranian negotiators are “being serious,” but no agreement has been reached and a U.S.-UK maritime meeting in London is planned.
  • The fighting has driven energy and shipping shocks — Brent briefly topped $100 earlier this week — left thousands of mariners stranded on hundreds of ships and raised the risk of a wider regional war.