The US-Israel war with Iran, according to US President Donald Trump, "is effectively over" in a military sense. Trump's secretary of state, Marco Rubio, backed up the president, saying there is "no need for major combat operations" in Iran because economic pressure and negotiations between the warring parties are proving effective.
However, Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary, Mohsen Rezaei, has denied negotiations are even taking place. "All American claims about the continuation of negotiations with Iran are aimed at easing economic pressures and reducing oil prices," he told Lebanese channel Al Mayadeen.
While neither side has claimed the conflict is concluded in every sense, Ian Kelly, a former US ambassador who now works at Northwestern University in the US, considers the current situation is something like a "virtual ceasefire." He added that there is currently a significant deescalation but that the central issues are unresolved.
"I wouldn't say the war is over. I would say there's no shooting going on, nothing really significant," Kelly told DW. "But the real issue is opening up the Strait of Hormuz. What Iran wants, of course, is for the United States to withdraw its massive strike forces from the Gulf. But that won't happen until Iran agrees to open the Strait of Hormuz."
