Why Trump halted plans to escalate US military action against Iran

2 min readNew DelhiJul 26, 2026 06:28 PM IST US President Donald Trump and Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. (AI-generated image)US President Donald Trump has halted the proposal to escalate the military operations against Iran amid reports of dwindling American air defences as the renewed conflict rages in West Asia, affecting shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. After renewing the deadly bombings nearly two weeks ago, the US military has paused the airstrikes on Tehran, while diplomatic efforts have been pushed forward to avoid an all-out war, AP reported. The conflict will complete five months on Tuesday, but it remains to be seen if the pause in hostilities is the critical turning point in West Asia.After Iran struck vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, alleging that