A U.S. official told Semafor that planned American strikes on Iran will continue, but that a five-day pause announced by President Donald Trump is narrowly focused on attacks against Tehran's energy infrastructure. The official said the temporary halt does not extend to other categories of targets.
The pause was announced amid what Mr. Trump characterized as "productive" conversations with unidentified Iranian officials. Earlier the same day, the president delayed for five days a previously planned operation to strike Iran's energy grid. Iran later rejected the notion that it had been engaged in negotiations with the United States.
Details provided to Semafor by the U.S. official spelled out the limits of the pause. In the official's words:
"The stop on attacks for five days is only on their energy sites," the official said. "It is not on the military sites and the navy, and the ballistic missiles, and the defense industrial base. The initial initiatives of (Operation) Epic Fury will continue," he told the news agency.
The report containing those comments was not immediately verifiable by Reuters. Requests for comment sent outside regular hours to the White House, the U.S. State Department and the Pentagon did not receive prompt responses, according to the report.
Semafor also reported that Israel was not a participant in Washington's talks with Tehran. Beyond those statements, public confirmation from U.S. government agencies was not available at the time the report was published, and Iranian officials issued a denial of having taken part in negotiations.
The situation as described leaves a narrow operational pause limited to energy-sector targets while preserving authorization or intent for action against a range of military and defense-related sites. The limited nature of the pause, the denial from Iran and the absence of immediate official U.S. comment leave key questions about next steps and verification.
Summary of immediate developments:
- Five-day pause specified to apply only to energy infrastructure.
- Military, naval, ballistic missile and defense industrial targets remain in scope.
- Iran denied engaging in talks; Israel reportedly not involved in the discussions.