US halts Iran strikes, shifts focus to economic sanctions, Rubio says

The United States has halted military strikes against Iran "for the time being," shifting focus to economic pressure, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told foreign counterparts, Axios reported Tuesday. The US will instead pursue Operation Economic Outcast, a sustained campaign to collapse Iran's economy, with Washington's Navy clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz, a "watershed moment" removing Iran's leverage, per officials. The policy of economic pressure is expected to last until after the November 3 midterm elections, with strikes may return, Axios said, as Tehran's economy in free fall, officials said, with the regime's military, said officials said.