The United States held off on further airstrikes against Iran for a second straight night on Sunday, extending a pause that began Friday after two of President Donald Trump's most senior advisers warned him against expanding a bombing campaign that had already run thirteen consecutive nights.
Officials who attended described the room as split not over whether the wider strike could succeed tactically, but over what it would cost the United States elsewhere once the bombs actually fell, a distinction that rarely survives contact with a president who prefers decisive framing to hedged ones.
Neither official has spoken publicly in detail about their reasoning, and the White House has not released a transcript or readout beyond Cheung's statement.
Thirteen nights is also, notably, close to the length of previous American air campaigns that either escalated into something far larger or collapsed into negotiated pauses once the initial shock value of the opening strikes wore off.
A sanctions rollout draws far less scrutiny than an airstrike that misses its target or draws American casualties, and an administration that has just absorbed a warning about its own munitions supply has clear incentive to prefer a tool that cannot run out the way interceptors can.
Trump paused a 13-night Iran bombing campaign after advisers warned wider strikes would drain Patriot missile stockpiles, as Netanyahu heads to Washington.