Airstrikes have paused and talks are pressing forward. But can the US and Iran take the off-ramp?

The U.S. military has paused its airstrikes on Iran after nearly two weeks of intensifying bombing, while diplomatic efforts have pushed forward to try to avert a return to all-out war.

'If it turns into a multiday pause, that'll be something significant,' said Michael Singh, managing director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 'But it's hard to know. Is it an operational pause? Is it a pause to allow for some kind of behind-the-scenes diplomacy?'

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 'positive signal that helps their efforts to de-escalate.' The official said that both the U.S. and Iran want to return to the interim ceasefire deal and that a compromise, which is being negotiated now, centers around having Iran run vessel transit through the Strait of Hormuz with fewer restrictions on ships.

Adding to the uncertainty 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.


   Michael Singh, Washington Institute, to AP: 


   A regional mediation official, to AP and NPR: