Iran and Israel Halt Strikes as Trump Pushes for Truce

After a hundred days of war and an unbroken exchange of strikes, both sides eased off the throttle on the same day. On Sunday, June 8, Iran announced that it was suspending military operations against Israel, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was halting its attacks on Iran for now. US President Donald Trump called on Tehran to return to the negotiating table. For Serbia, which imports fuel at prices set on the global market, this is a story that touches the household budget directly: any shift in a war that keeps oil simmering is felt quickly at pumps in Belgrade and Novi Sad.

It is worth separating this from earlier reporting. In recent days we covered the Israeli strike on central and western Iran on the hundredth day of the war. This is the reverse: both sides dialled down the intensity at the same time, and the centre of gravity has moved from the battlefield to the diplomatic channel. This is de-escalation, not a new phase of escalation, and that distinction is exactly what the market and regional capitals are now weighing carefully.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, before the announcement of the suspension, carried out an operation it called Nasr during the day, targeting two Israeli military bases. At least six missile salvoes were fired over the course of the day, according to Iranian accounts. Only after those strikes came the announcement suspending operations, which lets Tehran present the de-escalation as a decision taken from a position of strength rather than a retreat.

What exactly did each side say?

Trump was the most direct. “You fired your missiles, that is enough, come back to the table and make a deal,” the US president told Iran, signalling that Washington wants to convert the war’s momentum into talks while the pressure is fresh. The message was aimed at Tehran, but it was also pressure on his ally in Tel Aviv not to open a new round.

Netanyahu left the door ajar on both ends. He confirmed that Israel was halting its strikes, but added that “the fight against Tehran and Hezbollah is not over.” That phrasing buys time: a halt for now is not the same as a truce, and it leaves the Israeli leadership room to resume if it judges that Iran is rebuilding its capabilities. Iran, for its part, made the suspension conditional, warning that it would respond more harshly than before to any fresh attack.

The diplomatic reality is that neither side has signed a ceasefire. There is a halt in strikes plus an American call for talks, which is far from guaranteed peace, but it is the first time in a hundred days that the guns have fallen silent on both sides at once.

Why oil stays expensive despite the lull

Even though the strikes stopped, oil stayed elevated, with Brent near 94 dollars a barrel. The reason is geography: the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes, remains effectively closed, so the market still prices the risk as real as long as tankers are not moving normally. A halt to fire on land does not automatically reopen the sea lane.

An added factor is Yemen’s Houthis, who rejoined the fight. They fired a ballistic missile toward the Tel Aviv area and declared a ban on Israeli shipping through the Red Sea, opening a second sensitive point, Bab el-Mandeb, at the approach to the Suez Canal. For Europe, entering a summer season of higher consumption, that means pressure on diesel and petrol prices persists even while the guns are quiet. Serbia, an importer that belongs to no oil cartel, takes the price the global market dictates.

Will the halt in strikes hold long enough for Hormuz to reopen and pump prices to ease, or is this only a pause before the next round?