The United States should lift its blockade of Iranian ports as part of a verifiable ceasefire

Escalating conflict between Iran, the US, and regional powers centered on Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, military strikes across the Gulf, NATO's response, and broader diplomatic and economic fallout including sanctions, cyber warfare, and the Israel-Lebanon front. The maritime confrontation between the United States and Iran expanded alongside Iranian missile attacks elsewhere in the region. Iran said it targeted ten vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, while the United States denied that its warships were hit. Jordan said it intercepted 18 of 20 Iranian missiles directed towards a U.S. base, with the remaining two landing in unpopulated areas without reported casualties.

Study and practice of how sovereign states, international institutions, and non-state actors interact across borders. Encompasses diplomacy, negotiation, alliances, and conflict — the foundational domain through which global order is constructed, contested, and maintained.

Diplomatic, economic, and military relations between the United States and Iran, including negotiations, sanctions, and regional tensions within the wider geopolitics shaping the global order.

Regional mediators continued indirect discussions with Iran and the United States concerning an end to the fighting, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the US blockade, sanctions relief and renewed nuclear inspections. The discussions rely on proposals exchanged through mediators; no direct negotiations or agreement have been confirmed.