diff --git a/rolling-release-update.py b/rolling-release-update.py
index 31ce194..f21858e 100644
--- a/rolling-release-update.py
+++ b/rolling-release-update.py
@@ -124,6 +124,8 @@ def check_for_fips_protected_changes(repo, branch, common_tag):
     parser.add_argument('--demo', help='DEMO mode, will make a new set of branches with demo_ prepended',
                         action='store_true')
     parser.add_argument('--debug', help='Enable debug output', action='store_true')
+    parser.add_argument('--interactive', help='Interactive mode - pause on merge conflicts for user resolution',
+                        action='store_true')
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     if args.demo:
@@ -301,7 +303,73 @@ def check_for_fips_protected_changes(repo, branch, common_tag):
         if result.returncode != 0:
             print(f'[rolling release update] ERROR: Failed to cherry-pick commit {ciq_commit}')
             print(result.stderr.decode('utf-8'))
-            exit(1)
+
+            if args.interactive:
+                print('[rolling release update] ========================================')
+                print('[rolling release update] INTERACTIVE MODE: Merge conflict detected')
+                print('[rolling release update] ========================================')
+                print('[rolling release update] To resolve:')
+                print('[rolling release update]   1. Fix merge conflicts in the working directory')
+                print('[rolling release update]   2. Stage resolved files: git add <files>')
+                print('[rolling release update]   3. Complete cherry-pick: git cherry-pick --continue')
+                print('[rolling release update]      (or commit manually if needed)')
+                print('[rolling release update] ========================================')
+
+                # Loop until conflict is resolved or user aborts
+                while True:
+                    user_input = input('[rolling release update] Press Enter when resolved (or type "stop"/"abort" to exit): ').strip().lower()
+
+                    if user_input in ['stop', 'abort']:
+                        print('[rolling release update] ========================================')
+                        print('[rolling release update] User aborted. Remaining commits to forward port:')
+                        print('[rolling release update] ========================================')
+
+                        # Print remaining commits including the current failed one
+                        remaining_commits = list(reversed(rolling_commit_map.items()))
+                        start_idx = remaining_commits.index((ciq_commit, upstream_commit))
+
+                        for remaining_commit, remaining_upstream in remaining_commits[start_idx:]:
+                            short_sha = repo.git.rev_parse('--short', remaining_commit)
+                            summary = repo.git.show('--pretty=%s', '-s', remaining_commit)
+                            print(f'  {short_sha} {summary}')
+
+                        print('[rolling release update] ========================================')
+                        print(f'[rolling release update] Total remaining: {len(remaining_commits) - start_idx} commits')
+                        exit(1)
+
+                    # Verify the cherry-pick was completed successfully
+                    # Check if CHERRY_PICK_HEAD still exists (indicates incomplete cherry-pick)
+                    cherry_pick_head = os.path.join(args.repo, '.git', 'CHERRY_PICK_HEAD')
+                    if os.path.exists(cherry_pick_head):
+                        print('[rolling release update] ERROR: Cherry-pick not completed (.git/CHERRY_PICK_HEAD still exists)')
+                        print('[rolling release update] Please complete the cherry-pick with:')
+                        print('[rolling release update]   git cherry-pick --continue')
+                        print('[rolling release update] or abort with:')
+                        print('[rolling release update]   git cherry-pick --abort')
+                        print('[rolling release update] Type "stop" or "abort" to exit, or press Enter to check again')
+                        continue
+
+                    # Check for uncommitted changes
+                    status_result = subprocess.run(['git', 'status', '--porcelain'],
+                                                   stderr=subprocess.PIPE, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, cwd=args.repo)
+                    if status_result.returncode != 0:
+                        print('[rolling release update] ERROR: Could not check git status')
+                        print('[rolling release update] Type "stop" or "abort" to exit, or press Enter to check again')
+                        continue
+
+                    if status_result.stdout.strip():
+                        print('[rolling release update] ERROR: There are still uncommitted changes')
+                        print('[rolling release update] Status:')
+                        print(status_result.stdout.decode('utf-8'))
+                        print('[rolling release update] Please commit or stash changes before continuing')
+                        print('[rolling release update] Type "stop" or "abort" to exit, or press Enter to check again')
+                        continue
+
+                    # If we got here, everything is resolved
+                    print('[rolling release update] Cherry-pick resolved successfully, continuing...')
+                    break
+            else:
+                exit(1)
 
     print(f'[rolling release update] Successfully applied all {commits_applied} commits')