Mediators See Progress In Efforts To Halt Iran War As Drone Attacks Rattle Region

CAIRO — Mediators person achieved advancement successful getting nan United States and Iran backmost to negotiations, location officials said Monday, aft some sides paused attacks pursuing a play of quickly escalating tensions. But scattered attacks by equipped groups crossed nan region underscored nan lingering tensions.

Saudi Arabia said it had changeable down drones fired by Iran-backed militias successful Iraq that had targeted its petroleum facilities. Iran-backed Houthi rebels successful Yemen meantime claimed to person attacked Saudi lipid accommodation arsenic portion of a abstracted but related conflict. It was unclear if they referred to nan aforesaid attack.

Two drone attacks were reported against a Kurdish Iranian dissident group successful Iraq, and Jordan said it had changeable down 2 drones, without saying wherever they originated. There were nary reports of casualties aliases damage.

Neither nan U.S. nor Iran reported carrying retired immoderate attacks for 3 days — a respite aft astir 2 weeks of sustained bombardments that had led to expanding fears of a return to all-out war.

The 2 location officials, who said connected information of anonymity to talk nan closed-door talks, said mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan were moving to span nan spread betwixt Washington and Tehran to return to an interim ceasefire woody that had collapsed aft nan exchanges of fire.

The U.S. has paused attacks aft targeting Iranian coastal areas and infrastructure successful a astir two-week escalation sparked by Iran’s firing astatine ships trying to transit nan Strait of Hormuz, a important waterway for world lipid shipments.

President Trump is “giving talks immoderate space. He’s giving it a small spot of room,” Mike Waltz, nan U.S. ambassador to nan United Nations, told Fox News.

Waltz dismissed nan thought that nan U.S. stockpile of interceptors important successful defending against Iranian attacks is moving low, but experts person questioned really agelong some nan U.S. and Iran tin spend to support up attacks.

Iran halted its attacks pursuing nan American pause, Tehran’s service spokesperson told Iranian authorities TV connected Sunday. Tehran successful caller days has counterattacked against countries successful nan region hosting U.S. subject forces, sidesplitting astatine slightest 3 work members astatine a guidelines successful Jordan and 1 successful Iraq.

One of nan location officials who said to AP connected Monday described nan advancement made successful mediation efforts arsenic “significant.” He said mediators were moving pinch Iran and Oman connected a system for managing vessels’ transit done nan Strait of Hormuz, nan flashpoint for nan latest strikes and counterstrikes.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said during a news convention successful Tehran connected Monday that “mediators whitethorn convey messages to america from nan American side” but that location were nary nonstop negotiations.

He said Iran and Oman, which lies connected nan different broadside of nan Strait of Hormuz, had already held talks connected Friday and Saturday connected really to negociate vessel postulation done nan waterway.

Concerns person grown astir shipping done different important waterway successful nan region, nan Bab al-Mandeb strait to nan Red Sea. The Houthis past week threatened a blockade of Saudi shipping there, and fired connected astatine slightest 1 Saudi tanker, mounting it alight.

Magdy and Becatoros constitute for nan Associated Press.