One hundred days after the US and Israel launched strikes on Tehran on February 28, a peace agreement remains elusive. The US and Iran have come close to a deal on several occasions, but each time negotiations have collapsed.
The war began with Operation Epic Fury, a joint US-Israeli campaign against Iran. Iran retaliated by attacking Israel and US military assets in the Gulf. Armed hostilities largely subsided after a temporary Pakistan-mediated ceasefire on April 8. Direct talks in Islamabad on April 12 failed, and the two sides have exchanged proposals via Pakistan since.
On April 11-12, representatives from the US and Iran met in Islamabad for the first direct talks since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The US delegation was led by Vice President JD Vance, while Iranian negotiators included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Ahead of the talks, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that a ceasefire by Israel in Lebanon and the unfreezing of Iranian assets were non-negotiable for Tehran.
The talks lasted 21 hours but yielded no agreement. Vance said the US had been flexible but Tehran rejected its 'final and best offer'. A major sticking point is Iran's nuclear program. Iran holds an estimated 440kg of uranium enriched to 60%, and the US demands this stockpile be handed over.
On April 16, the US announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, raising hopes for broader peace with Iran. However, Israel continued strikes on Lebanon despite the ceasefire. The Norwegian Refugee Council estimates nearly 600 people were killed in the month after the ceasefire was announced.
On April 17, Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open for commercial vessels, but the US maintained its naval blockade of Iranian ports. Iran threatened that if its own ships were not allowed passage, no others would be allowed. The strait has become a key issue in negotiations.
On June 1, President Trump reportedly called Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, urging him to cease attacks on Lebanon. Axios cited sources saying Trump called Netanyahu 'crazy'. Although Israel indicated it would stop attacks, they continued.
Naysan Rafati, a senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, noted that each time the US and Iran were close to a deal, progress on some issues was combined with deadlock on others. 'Close isn't good enough – even if there's 95 percent agreement, the remaining five percent tends to be the hardest,' he said.
Source: www.aljazeera.com