US-Iran ceasefire can’t paper over fires in the Strait of Hormuz

While the United States and Iran exchange peace proposals in Islamabad, the Middle East remains trapped in a cycle of escalation. Ships burn in the Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon absorbs strikes by Israel and the nuclear gap remains unbridgeable. Calling this moment a ceasefire might be in line with diplomatic language, but on the ground it has the familiar look of war, just repackaged. While US Presid