The Times, citing Trump administration officials, said the president’s decision came amid concern that ratcheting up the war could “dangerously drain the Pentagon’s already diminished stockpile of Patriot antimissile interceptors and other air defense munitions in the Middle East”.
It said the decision followed a meeting between Trump, his top advisers and senior members of his cabinet on Friday.
Axios, citing two anonymous sources with knowledge of the decision, said it was unclear if Trump’s order to halt the strikes was a one-off or if the lull would continue.
It said Trump’s decision “reflects both his willingness to provide more space for diplomacy and a recognition that — short of a return to major combat operations — the current level of US strikes has reached the limit of its effectiveness”.
It cited the sources as saying that the US military was preparing plans for a possible return to major combat aggression.
MNA