The recent peace talks in Pakistan represented the highest-level diplomatic engagement between the United States and Iran in a very long time, featuring the Iranian Speaker of the Parliament and the A...

The United States has disputed Iran's account that a reduction in Israeli strikes on Lebanon was a precondition for their direct talks.

During the talks in Islamabad, the Iranian delegation only agreed to meet directly with the American delegation after claiming that Israel had reduced some of its strikes on Lebanon.

Iran's long-term negotiation goal is to secure an end to future military aggression against itself and its regional allied militias, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

The U.S. naval blockade is unlikely to force Iran to either immediately return to negotiations or completely abandon them.

Prior to the current conflict, Iran's economy was already experiencing a currency in free fall and an inflation rate exceeding 30%.

The U.S. naval blockade is intended to cut off a new source of revenue that Iran has been generating from higher oil prices caused by regional instability.

Iran claims it can mitigate the effects of the U.S. blockade by using alternative overland routes and ports less exposed to the Strait of Hormuz.