Mediators see progress in efforts to halt Iran war as drone attacks
rattle region
[July 28, 2026]
By SAMY MAGDY and ELENA BECATOROS
CAIRO (AP) — Mediators have achieved progress in getting the United
States and Iran back to negotiations, regional officials said Monday,
after both sides paused attacks following a period of rapidly escalating
tensions. But scattered attacks by armed groups across the region
underscored the lingering tensions.
Saudi Arabia said it had shot down drones fired by Iran-backed militias
in Iraq that had targeted its petroleum facilities. Iran-backed Houthi
rebels in Yemen meanwhile claimed to have attacked Saudi oil facilities
as part of a separate but related conflict. It was unclear if they
referred to the same attack.
Neither the U.S. nor Iran reported carrying out any attacks for three
days — a respite after about two weeks of sustained bombardments that
led to increasing fears of a return to all-out war.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran had asked for more discussions,
reaching out directly “because we’ve been hitting them very hard.” Iran
has said there are no direct talks underway.
“We’re having good talks, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump told
reporters Monday on Air Force One. “I think there’s a good chance that
something could happen. And if it does, good. if it doesn’t, we go back
to doing what we were doing two days ago.”
The two regional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss the closed-door talks, said mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan
were working to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran to return
to an interim ceasefire deal that had collapsed after exchanges of fire.
No strikes over the weekend
In addition to the attack on Saudi Arabia, two drone attacks were
reported against a Kurdish Iranian dissident group in Iraq on Monday,
and Jordan said it had shot down two drones, without saying where they
originated. There were no reports of casualties or damage.
Iran and Ukraine, meanwhile, have been publicly feuding since Ukraine
fired on at least one Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea over the
weekend. Iran, which said a sailor had been killed in the attack, is an
important ally of Russia in its war against Ukraine and helped Moscow
build up its drone expertise.
The U.S. paused attacks after targeting Iranian coastal areas and
infrastructure in a nearly two-week escalation sparked by Iran’s firing
at ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for
global oil shipments. Iran had responded to the strikes with missile and
drone attacks on countries hosting U.S. troops, killing at least three
service members at a base in Jordan and one in Iraq.
Iran halted its attacks following the American pause, Tehran’s army
spokesperson told Iranian state TV on Sunday.
Questions about US munitions stockpile
The Iran war has drawn down the U.S. stockpile of key weapons systems
like missiles and interceptors, analysts say.
Asked if the U.S. munitions stockpile was running low, Trump said both
that it was “in very good shape,” and “I’d like to have more, to be
honest.” Experts have questioned how long both the U.S. and Iran can
afford to keep up attacks.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has told Trump
that the state of the country’s stockpile could have an impact on
military operations in Iran, a U.S. official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive
conversations, said this message was delivered as part of Caine’s
regular duties of providing military advice and options to Trump.
Caine told lawmakers at a hearing last week that “airpower has its
limits” in achieving military objectives. The U.S. military has employed
airstrikes almost exclusively against Iran.
Regional officials cite progress in talks
One of the regional officials who spoke to AP on Monday described the
progress made in mediation efforts as “significant.” He said mediators
were working with Iran and Oman on a mechanism for managing vessels’
transit through the Strait of Hormuz, the flashpoint for the latest
strikes and counterstrikes.
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A man walks past anti-U.S. graffiti on the wall of the British
Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid
Salemi)
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said during a
news conference in Tehran on Monday that “mediators may convey
messages to us from the American side” but that there were no direct
negotiations.
He said Iran and Oman, which lies on the other side of the Strait of
Hormuz, talked Friday and Saturday on how to manage ship traffic
through the waterway.
Their aim is to “develop mechanisms to ensure safe navigation
through the Strait of Hormuz while respecting the sovereign rights
and sovereignty of both coastal states, as well as Iran’s security
and national interests” Baghaei said. He stressed that the waterway
remains closed.
Tehran has asserted that the interim deal with the U.S. allows it to
manage shipping on the waterway and potentially charge fees, and it
has objected to U.S. efforts to support an alternative route that
passes close to Oman. The strait was open to all without fees before
the war.
The U.S. military on Monday said its recently reimposed naval
blockade against Iran continued, with 17 commercial ships
redirected, two disabled and two boarded.
The 60-day period established by the interim deal in mid-June is now
well into its second half, and major issues that were meant to be
negotiated — notably Iran’s nuclear program at the heart of tensions
— have been set aside as mediators try to keep both sides talking.
Shipping traffic on the strait is at a 3-week low
Concerns have grown about shipping through another crucial waterway
in the region, the Bab al-Mandeb strait to the Red Sea. The Houthis
last week threatened a blockade of Saudi shipping there, and fired
on at least one Saudi tanker.
Global energy supplies and the economy remain in the balance as
gasoline prices have risen again.
Commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz was at a
three-week low, a maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said
Sunday, adding that no new attacks had been confirmed in the past 72
hours. It said traffic remained steady through Bab el-Mandeb.
Netanyahu says he ‘fully’ backs Trump’s efforts
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans
to meet with Trump in Washington on Tuesday. They last met in
Washington in February, weeks before they launched the war that
killed Iran's senior leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon fired at
Israel two days after the war began, and Israel responded with
airstrikes and a ground invasion.
The U.S. State Department said Monday that the next round of talks
between Israel and Lebanon will take place next week in Rome with a
focus on expanding “pilot zones” in which Israeli forces will
withdraw and turn over security to the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Talks between the two countries have been going on for months in an
effort to eliminate the Hezbollah movement as a force in Lebanon.
___
Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press reporters
Matthew Lee, Konstantin Toropin, Darlene Superville and Ben Finley
in Washington; Jill Lawless and Emma Burrows in London; and
Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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