Bangkok: U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military to suspend airstrikes against Iran on Friday, temporarily ending a 13-day offensive against Iran.
According to Thai News Agency, President Trump ordered the U.S. military to suspend airstrikes after he and his top national security advisors determined that the current level of airstrikes was reaching its limits of cost-effectiveness and efficiency, unless the U.S. decided to escalate into a full-scale combat operation. The Trump administration expressed concern that a prolonged and escalating war could deplete the U.S. air defense missile arsenal, particularly Patriot missiles, in the Middle East to a dangerously low level.
Reports also indicated that the order to halt the attack came just hours after a delegation from Oman arrived in Tehran to mediate negotiations for a new agreement on reopening shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz. These negotiations showed progress amidst concerns from Gulf allies regarding the impact of an escalating war on global economic stability, oil reserves, and energy prices.
Despite the temporary halt to attacks, the U.S. military, or CENTCOM, continues to prepare contingency plans and forces in case tensions escalate or a large-scale conflict erupts immediately. Sanctions and naval blockades against Iranian ports remain in full effect. While Trump stated he remains fully prepared to order an escalation of attacks to destroy Iranian military targets and infrastructure if necessary, he views the current strategy as seeking a mutual agreement.
A spokesman for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have destroyed a large number of U.S. military aircraft, helicopters, and drones during missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in the region over the past 15 days. The destroyed equipment reportedly included fighter jets, helicopters, surveillance and operational drones, one F-15 fighter jet, one P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, one C-17 military transport aircraft, and eight aerial refueling aircraft.
Iran also claimed to have destroyed Patriot air defense radar systems, command centers, weapons depots, and several US military infrastructure sites in Gulf countries such as Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait, while stating that over 200 US soldiers were killed. The US denied these figures, labeling them as fake news.