Donald Trump announced that he has postponed previously planned military strikes against Iran thanks to “progress” in conflict settlement negotiations. He had earlier informed Congress of an “end to the war,” but with the peace agreement still in the works, the American president has to choose between maintaining the naval blockade of Iran and launching a new round of hostilities. Despite the blockade significantly curtailing Iran’s oil exports, the CIA estimates that Tehran’s financial and economic system still has a resilience buffer of at least three to four more months — a timeline experts consider unacceptably long for the Trump administration. At the same time, there is no clear understanding of what kind of military campaign could force the Iranian leadership to make concessions given that neither “decapitation strikes” nor the destruction of a significant portion of the country’s armed forces and defense industry have achieved this. It appears that, contrary to Trump’s assurances, the conflict may drag on.Contents1.Key points of disagreement between the U.S. and Iran2.How the Americans are enforcing the blockade3.How Iranian forces are fighting the blockade4.How the blockade is affecting Iran’s situation5.The Hormuz deadlock could drag onKey points of disagreement between the U.S. and IranOn May 18, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he was postponing new strikes against Iran at the request of the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE given that “serious negotiations” on a deal to end the conflict were underway. He also emphasized Iran’s inability to obtain nuclear weapons and Washington’s readiness to resume a full-scale military campaign if the deal fails. Trump later clarified that the talks are proceeding in an “orderly and constructive manner” and that there is therefore no need to rush the talks.Since April 7, the parties have broadly maintained a ceasefire while simultaneously conducting negotiations to end the conflict. Furthermore, Trump notified Congress that he considers the war against Iran over.The parties are broadly maintaining a ceasefire while simultaneously conducting negotiations to end the conflict