The renewed exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran exposes the uncomfortable truth behind the language of ceasefires and diplomacy in West Asia: the war has paused, but the confrontation has not ended. What now exists is not peace, but a carefully managed instability in which military pressure and negotiations proceed simultaneously.

Washington’s latest attacks on Iranian targets near Bandar Abbas, coupled with Tehran’s retaliatory claims against American bases in the Gulf, demonstrate that both sides are still willing to use force even while publicly discussing a settlement. Yet neither appears eager to trigger a direct, unrestricted war. That contradiction explains the peculiar nature of the present crisis. The battlefield has become an extension of the negotiating table. At the centre of this confrontation lies the Strait of Hormuz, through which a substantial share of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes.

Control over this narrow maritime corridor has transformed the conflict from a regional military contest into a global economic threat. The disruption of tanker traffic and rising fuel prices are reminders that the consequences extend far beyond........

© The Statesman