Iran-U.S. 60-Day Ceasefire Period Ends Without New Deal

The United States and Iran will officially conclude at midnight tonight (Sunday) the 60-day ceasefire period they agreed to in the Islamabad Memorandum, signed in June. The memorandum ostensibly ended Operation "Roaring Lion," known in the United States as Operation Epic Fury.

As a reminder, the agreement established a temporary 60-day window intended to reach a permanent arrangement addressing Iran's nuclear issue, the removal of sanctions, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The current status is that the agreement had already collapsed earlier, due to mutual accusations of violations and renewed blockades in the Strait of Hormuz.

An Iranian official told Reuters in the evening that "there are no discussions with the United States regarding an extension. From Iran's perspective, there was no start date for the ceasefire, so there is nothing to extend. The United States violated the agreement and withdrew from it. The chances of an agreement were always slim."

White House officials also acknowledged that the 60-day deadline would pass without an agreement being reached. The New York Times quoted two American officials who said the confrontation had largely become an economic war. According to them, the American strategy is to isolate Iran in the hope of forcing it to abandon its nuclear ambitions.