Iran status quo

INTERNATIONAL BUREAU —THE current ‘no war, no peace’ situation in the US-Iran conflict is unsustainable. While the immediate fear of a new US-Israeli strike on Iran — and a greater regional conflagration — may have passed, thanks mainly to the drubbing the Republicans received in the American midterm elections, the Gulf will not return to normal unless there is stable long-term peace.

True to form, President Donald Trump has been oscillating between claiming that more attacks are not needed and issuing new threats. After talking to the Qatari prime minister, he said that the US would maintain the “status quo” vis-à-vis Iran, while his secretary of state has asserted that economic pressure on Tehran will continue.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, has slammed America’s “diplomacy through threats”. The fact is that the US and Israel have failed to subdue Iran on the battlefield, and while the economic sanctions are hurting the Iranians, there are few signs that the pressure will make them yield to America.

If anything, the feeling in Tehran is that if Iran is made to endure economic pain, the entire region, and in fact the wider international community, will feel it as well, as the over eight-month blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has shown. The Iranians have said their seven-point proposal is on the table if the Americans want to consider it, though the US has termed these conditions “absurd”.

The US status quo is unlikely to hold, and may, in fact, further inflame matters, which is why Washington’s energies should be directed towards a negotiated settlement. As American academic John Mearsheimer told the Margalla Dialogue in Islamabad on Tuesday, “there is no way the US can defeat Iran”. For the sake of peace in the region and for global economic stability, the status quo needs to end, and give way to a sustainable peace.

The US cannot hold the world hostage in order to find an honourable exit from a disastrous war for which it has only itself — and Israel — to blame. Iran’s demands may appear maximalist at the moment, but if Tehran is approached with respect, and given guarantees of no more attacks, it may soften its approach.

The American people have made their displeasure with Mr Trump’s war clear in the midterms. Instead of dragging this matter on, he should find ways to quickly wrap things up. Israel is obviously unhappy about any cessation of hostilities; as per the Israeli media Mr Trump and the Zionist state’s prime minister had a tense phone call on the matter recently.

The US leader should remember that it was questionable Israeli advice that got him into this predicament. He would be better off ignoring Tel Aviv’s toxic persuasion, and working with regional states to find a solution to permanently end hostilities with Iran. Published in National News Pakistan, November 12th, 2026