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WASHINGTON — <\/span>The U.S. military has paused its airstrikes on Iran<\/a> after nearly two weeks of intensifying bombing, while diplomatic efforts<\/a> have pushed forward to try to avert a return to all-out war. <\/p>\n But it remains to be seen whether the U.S. and Iran are at an inflection point in a mercurial conflict<\/a> that will reach the five-month point Tuesday. President Donald Trump both has threatened more strikes<\/a> and said talks are pressing on, all while brushing off concerns that rising gas prices<\/a> tied to the fighting could hurt Republicans in November’s midterm elections.<\/p>\n Adding to the uncertainty<\/a> is the impact of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned visit with Trump next week in Washington. Israel, which launched the war alongside the U.S. on Feb. 28, has been notably absent from the renewed American attacks over Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a vital shipping corridor through which 20% of the world’s oil normally flows. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Iranians understand that perhaps it could get worse because Israel could come into the conflict,\u201d said Michael Singh, managing director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. On the other hand, Israel’s lack of involvement so far \u201cmay signal to the Iranians that we\u2019re looking to limit the conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n Singh, who was senior Middle East director on the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration, said he was hesitant to read too much into the lull in fighting. <\/p>\n \u201cIf it turns into a multiday pause, that\u2019ll be something significant,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s hard to know. Is it an operational pause? Is it a pause to allow for some kind of behind-the-scenes diplomacy?” <\/p>\n A regional official involved in the mediation efforts said that concerted diplomacy was underway and that a pause in U.S. strikes and Iranian counterstrikes on neighboring countries hosting American forces was a \u201cpositive signal that helps their efforts to de-escalate.\u201d<\/p>\n The official said that both the U.S. and Iran want to return to the interim ceasefire deal<\/a> and that a compromise, which is being negotiated now, centers around having Iran run vessel transit through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> with fewer restrictions on ships. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n Iran put a chokehold on the narrow Persian Gulf waterway when the war began by firing on tankers and freighters. In turn, oil prices have soared<\/a> during the conflict, which has been unpopular with many Americans<\/a>, and could leave some Republican lawmakers vulnerable in November. <\/p>\n Following the signing of an interim ceasefire deal<\/a> in June, a battle for control over the strait has erupted. Iran demanded that ships use a route near its coastline and said it can potentially charge fees<\/a>. Ships were increasingly navigating a southern route along the coast of Oman under a U.S. overwatch operation when Iran attacked some vessels.<\/p>\n The U.S. renewed attacks on Iran\u2019s coastal defenses, aiming to blunt Tehran\u2019s ability to strike ships in the strait. The Trump administration then expanded its targets, hitting bridges and infrastructure<\/a> in the south and striking deeper into the center of Iran.<\/p>\n Singh said the strikes appear to be an attempt to push Iran back to the negotiating table. Now, he said, “the question would be: What kind of messages, if any, is the Iranian regime sending through diplomatic channels? Have those messages changed? Do they seem more eager to return to talks?\u201d<\/p>\n Among the challenges the U.S. faces is the fractured leadership in Iran, with different factions vying for control, Singh said, something that Trump administration officials have also pointed to. The people in charge in Iran may worry that compromising with the U.S. will be seen as weakness and could loosen their grip on power.<\/p>\n Whatever the case, both the U.S. and Iran need the strait to reopen for their own economic reasons. <\/p>\n \u201cBut they have very different conceptions of under what conditions, under whose control,\u201d Singh said. \u201cSo we have to get to some kind of stable equilibrium on those questions before you\u2019re going to see a longer period of quiet. I think this effort to negotiate with words and also to negotiate with force is going to continue until we reach that equilibrium.\u201d <\/p>\n Despite the lull in fighting, tensions are high in the region.<\/p>\n Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels<\/a> said Saturday that they fired missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi airstrikes on the strategic Red Sea city of Hodeida. The Iran-backed rebels<\/a> say they have closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which has become even more vital for Saudi oil exports<\/a> since the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>.<\/p>\n The U.S. military also is enforcing its naval blockade<\/a> of Iranian ports, saying it disabled a Mozambique-flagged ship<\/a> in the Gulf of Oman on Friday after the vessel tried to violate the blockade and ignored warnings.<\/p>\n Trump also has kept up the threats against Iran even as he spotlighted diplomacy. Asked about his exit strategy Friday, Trump said there are two ways.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can just keep doing exactly what we\u2019re doing and take them apart piece by piece. We could do it in a more rapid fashion, which we might do,\u201d he told reporters in the Oval Office. \u201cOr we can negotiate with them, which we\u2019re also doing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n While Trump said he doesn\u2019t think Iran is \u201cready yet\u201d to make a deal, he also asserted that \u201cI think they\u2019re getting more and more serious as the days go by, for maybe the obvious reason.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump met Friday with top national security aides to discuss the situation with Iran and whether the administration should maintain the current course or escalate military attacks, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. No U.S. strikes occurred overnight in Iran after 13 consecutive nights<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump insisted Friday that he was \u201cnot in a hurry\u201d to wrap things up because of the approaching elections, in which voters, angry about high food and gasoline prices, could vote his Republican Party out of control of Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite what everyone says about the election, I\u2019m not in a hurry,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to do it right. Elections take care of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n ____<\/p>\n Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n