Axios: Trump halted US airstrikes on Iran after nearly two weeks

US President Donald Trump ordered the military to halt airstrikes on Iran on Friday, July 24, bringing a nearly two-week military campaign to a halt, Axios reports, citing two sources familiar with the decision.

The move came as Omani officials were holding talks in Tehran. According to the report, the discussions yielded progress on the possible resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Shortly after issuing the July 24 directive, Trump told reporters at the White House that he could resume the strikes or even escalate them, including "knocking out everything they have."

"We're talking to [the Iranians] right now. I think they're getting more and more serious as the days go by. We're locked and loaded and ready to go, but we're talking to them," the president stressed.

The decision may signal the administration's willingness to create conditions for a diplomatic resolution, while also suggesting that the current scale of military operations has reached the limits of its effectiveness.

At the same time, Axios noted that the US military continues to develop contingency plans for expanding the scope of potential strikes.

By Jeyhun Aghazada