The United States and Iran both appeared to refrain from launching new attacks as the Iran War entered its 150th day on Monday.
AP reported that “regional mediators” had persuaded the U.S. and Iran to return to the negotiating table. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denied that his country had requested a restart of talks, telling reporters that negotiations with the U.S. are “not in our DNA.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Monday for Washington, where he will meet with President Donald Trump for the eighth time since the start of Trump’s second term. In a post on X, Netanyahu said his goal was “to ensure Israel’s security, strengthen its power, and expand the circle of peace around us.”
Amid rising concern that a return to hostilities could worsen the Pentagon’s alleged munitions shortage, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that senior military leaders were discussing the tradeoffs of new strikes. According to the WSJ, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine believes that munitions shortfalls “wouldn’t preclude a resumption of major combat operations against Iran, but would add to the risk.” The article also cited sources close to CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper, who said Cooper thought that “the U.S. can cope with the limited stocks of Patriot and other air defense interceptors because stepped-up U.S. strikes… would blunt Iran’s ability to launch large numbers of missiles.”
Hostilities between Yemen’s Houthis and Saudi Arabia continued on Monday, as the Houthis claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure in response to previous Saudi strikes. Satellite images published by Bloomberg Monday appeared to show fires continuing at Saudi Arabia’s Jazan oil plant, more than two days after a Houthi attack.
The Iran War threatened to widen even further after Ukraine reportedly attacked an Iranian vessel on Saturday. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to the attack in a post on X, condemning it as “a blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war,” adding that “what the freeloader in Kyiv did CANNOT GO UNANSWERED.”
The price of Brent Crude oil retreated to $90.20 as of Monday morning. AAA reported the national average price of regular gas at $4.11.
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