Why war in Iran became a test of endurance — and time

Second round of negotiations between the US and Iran still has no set date Recently, American President Donald Trump wrote on the Truth Social network that time is not his “adversary” during the war with Iran and in the ongoing efforts for a negotiated peace solution. ✅ Follow g1’s international news channel on WhatsApp LIVE: Follow the latest news from the war in the Middle East However, people close to the White House have repeatedly warned that time is, in fact, a crucial issue that Trump needs to take into consideration. In the post, the American president favorably compared the six weeks of Operation Epic Fury — the name given to the US and Israeli war against Iran that began on February 28 — to previous longer conflicts involving his country, including those in Iraq, Vietnam and both world wars. It is difficult, however, to compare military conflicts and their respective timelines. Iraq is a great example. Although Trump correctly stated that U.S. military involvement there lasted more than eight years, in 2003, the U.S. military overthrew Saddam Hussein’s government in about three weeks. Shortly afterwards, then-president George W. Bush, in a statement that would be marked in the history of the conflict, celebrated that the “mission had been accomplished”. It wasn’t quite like that. In the aftermath, American forces found themselves in the midst of an extremely chaotic counterinsurgency campaign, and the results were mixed at best. Trump specifically campaigned against this type of protracted conflict abroad, which complicates his political situation. Despite your comments, there is clearly a time factor at play. Americans are increasingly concerned about gasoline prices, and Trump has repeatedly said he believes prices will fall soon. His own Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, contradicts this message, having told CNN on Sunday (19) that it could take months for gasoline prices to fall. Trump has said he believes Wright is wrong. In this sense, Iran hopes that the internal pressure exerted by Americans who yearn for low prices and a quick end to the conflict will give it negotiating power. Trump, in turn, believes that the threat of new attacks and the economic strangulation imposed by the blockade will pressure Iran to close a deal that the US considers positive. The question remains: who will give in first? Trump denies being under pressure to close a peace deal Ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a Shiite political party and armed group with strong influence in Lebanon, ends on Wednesday Ibrahim AMRO/AFP via Getty Images Amid a series of publications in Truth Social, Trump stated, on Monday afternoon (20), that an agreement with Iran will happen “relatively quickly” and that it will be “much better” than the previous agreements signed with the country. He also denied being under pressure to reach a deal. However, Iran’s participation in any peace negotiations is still uncertain. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman stated that “so far… we have no plans for the next round of negotiations.” That leaves the door open for a last-minute decision to travel to neighboring Pakistan, which has been trying to broker an eventual deal. Iran has always played a game of long-term mutual concessions, writes Lyse Doucet, chief International correspondent in Iran. The first round of negotiations, held in Pakistan on April 11, not only ended without an agreement, but was followed by the announcement of a naval blockade by the US. Trump blocked all maritime traffic arriving and leaving ports in Iran, making normalization conditional on a peace agreement. The naval blockade was carried out after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz for weeks in response to the US and Israeli attack on Iran in February. On Thursday (16), a 10-day ceasefire was announced in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a Shiite political party and armed group with strong influence in Lebanon supported by the Iranian regime. Lebanon was drawn into war in the Middle East on March 2 when Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel to avenge the death of Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel responded with widespread attacks across Lebanon and a ground offensive. Now, the pause in fighting in Lebanon, where 2,387 people have died since the start of the conflict, was a demand from Tehran, which claimed that negotiations with the US could not progress without a ceasefire. The following day, the Strait of Hormuz was reopened, an action that was celebrated by Trump on the social network: “Thank you!”, posted the American president, adding that the strait would be “completely open and ready for business”. MORE EPA/Shutterstock But the opening of the world’s busiest oil transport canal took less than 24 hours. On Saturday morning, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the end of the temporary reopening in response to the US naval blockade, which, according to the IRGC, violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Iran has said the strait will remain closed until the US ends the naval blockade. Trump, in turn, stated that Iran cannot “blackmail” the US with threats related to the waterway. And he threatened to destroy all of Iran’s bridges and power plants if Tehran did not agree to a peace deal. Tensions continued to escalate over the weekend after the US seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, saying the vessel had attempted to break the blockade. Iran promised retaliation. The Iranian military high command said in a statement that the United States violated the ceasefire by firing at Iranian merchant ships in the waters of the Gulf of Oman, disabling their navigation systems and boarding the vessels with the deployment of marines. “The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will promptly respond and retaliate against this act of armed piracy by the US Navy,” the statement added. * With reporting from BBC Persian and teams across the Middle East. VIDEOS: most watched on g1

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