Six Months Into U.S.-Israeli War With Iran, Diplomacy Stalls as Economic Pressure Intensifies
Dragon Media News Desk
Friday marks six months since the United States and Israel launched their joint military campaign against Iran, with diplomatic efforts to end the conflict stalled and Washington intensifying economic pressure on Tehran.
The war began on February 28, when the United States and Israel carried out coordinated strikes on Iran, killing then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several senior military and political officials. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded with missile and drone attacks against U.S. military bases across the Middle East and targets in Israel.
The conflict widened on March 2 when Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel, prompting extensive Israeli strikes across Lebanon. A day later, Iran declared that the Strait of Hormuz was under its full control.
On March 8, Iran’s Assembly of Experts selected Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader. In his first public remarks, he called for the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and urged neighboring countries to shut down U.S. military bases on their territory.
Throughout March, the United States and Israel continued attacks on Iranian military, nuclear and energy infrastructure, while Iran maintained strikes against Israeli and U.S. targets in the region.
A U.S. 15-point peace proposal was delivered to Tehran through Pakistan, but Iran rejected it and submitted its own 10-point response on April 6, while calling for a permanent end to the conflict.
On April 8, the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. Senior officials from the two countries subsequently met in Islamabad on April 11, but intensive negotiations failed to produce a final settlement.
The Strait of Hormuz remained one of the central strategic fronts of the conflict. On May 3, Washington launched “Project Freedom” to escort commercial vessels through the waterway, although the operation was later suspended after reported progress in negotiations.
Pakistan announced on June 14 that the United States and Iran had reached a peace agreement following intensive talks. Four days later, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding, opening a 60-day period for negotiations toward a final agreement.
The diplomatic opening, however, proved short-lived. Military exchanges resumed later in June. On July 8, the United States launched strikes against 80 Iranian targets, while Iran said it retaliated against 85 U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait. U.S. President Donald Trump subsequently declared that the ceasefire with Iran was over.
On July 18, Iran announced that it had stopped fulfilling its obligations under the MoU. Indirect negotiations nevertheless continued through mediation by Qatar and Pakistan.
The 60-day period for reaching a final agreement expired on August 17 without a settlement. Washington subsequently intensified economic pressure on Tehran.
On August 19, Trump announced a sweeping economic campaign against countries and entities providing support to Iran. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent followed on August 24 with a new round of sanctions intended to further isolate Tehran economically.
Iranian senior security official Mohsen Rezaei warned that Tehran could regard participation in the U.S.-led economic campaign as an “act of war.”
Marking six months since the conflict began, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that diplomacy with Washington could return to the right track if the United States accepted that pressure would not force Iran to surrender.
Six months into the war, neither a decisive military outcome nor a durable political settlement has emerged. The future of the conflict is now likely to be shaped by developments surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. economic pressure on Iran and the possibility of renewed negotiations.
