The US and Iran are locked in a stalemate, each side believing it holds the upper hand and time is on its side. The diplomatic track is stuck on complex issues that have defied resolution for years. Only now, positions have hardened and mutual distrust runs deeper, with both sides indicating they are prepared to return to war, if necessary. President Donald Trump this week rejected Iran's response to the latest US peace proposal, saying the one-month ceasefire was now on "life support." The US may think more military or economic pressure will force Iran into major concessions. But such expectations in the past tended to create the opposite effect. Any escalation resulting from the current standoff risks extending timelines that energy markets — and the global economy — can ill afford. And Iran is well aware of the time pressures on Trump.