Trump continues pause on Iran strikes as Pentagon reveals higher casualty figures | First Thing

Eighteen American troops have been killed and 624 wounded since White House launched war on Tehran. Plus, International Cowboy Day in Kenya Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here Good morning. The US has paused strikes on Iran for a third night as top military officials advised Donald Trump to halt his bombing campaign, and diplomatic negotiations have continued to avoid a return to all-out war. Oil prices fell on Monday as markets responded to the pause in combat. Tehran said on Sunday it would pause what it called “retaliatory” attacks against US allies in the region. Trump is said to be weighing up diplomatic and military options in the nearly five-month-old conflict. Axios reported on Sunday that Adm Bradley Cooper, the top US military commander in the region, had told Trump the US military campaign had reached the limits of its effectiveness. How many US service personnel have been killed and injured in Trump’s Iran war? The Pentagon updated its official war casualty database over the weekend, adding more than 140 wounded service members. The new figures show that 18 US troops have been killed and 624 wounded since the US launched its war against Iran on 28