Ceasefire hands Trump a quick win, but Iran enters talks from a position of strength

The two-week Trump-Iran ceasefire lets Donald Trump celebrate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as a successful moment and a new beginning. Meanwhile, Iran heads into peace talks holding the stronger global position, with greater leverage instead of the temporary truce.

The Tehran regime moves into Friday’s Pakistan talks bruised but still standing. It maintains a stockpile of highly enriched uranium - the prime issue at the heart of the conflict with Israel, the US, and allies. It even claims partial control of the Strait of Hormuz, having shown it can shut the important route and put pressure on global trade.

US-Iran peace talks 2026 secured a quick political payoff, keeping at the centre of the crisis after the big warning that “a whole civilisation will die.” Within a few hours, he pivoted and claimed progress, saying that the path to lasting Middle East peace was previously “far along.”

The word of the president on the oil price went down, and global stocks gave signs of rallying. It shows up; he still had the power at least to move short-term marketplaces.

Meanwhile, the real ceasefire terms stay hazy with different interpretations in circulation. The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, said the ceasefire covered “everywhere, including Lebanon”. His Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, speedily contradicted him, vowing Israel’s campaign over its northern edge would go on.

Trump said the Strait of Hormuz ceasefire was dependent on the “complete, instant and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz”. Tehran agreed that shipping would now carry on through the waterway, but with the caveat that passage would be under the management of the Iranian armed forces.