‘No war, no peace’: Can Iran break the deadlock with the US?

As the United States-Iran war drags on and talks remain stalled, Tehran is determined to move beyond a state of “no war and no peace”, parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has told Al Jazeera. Iran continues to assert control over which vessels may pass through the Strait of Hormuz, where attacks on tankers taking “unauthorised” routes have disrupted shipping.

Ghalibaf says Tehran remains open to a deal with the US to agree a ceasefire and the reopening of the strait, and has been waiting for Washington to respond to its terms for this to happen. “The ball is now in the American court,” he said.

Faced with the prospect of restarting an unpopular war or making concessions to Iran in order to secure a deal, experts say US President Donald Trump has for now chosen to ratchet up economic pressure. To this end, Washington has tightened sanctions, maintained its blockade on Iranian ports and announced an operation that Trump says will cut off overland routes Iran uses to transport advanced weapons and technology.