Strait of Hormuz ‘faultline’ exposes weakness of the US-Iran deal

But its biggest fault line is the status of the strategic Strait of Hormuz - and Iran is again making it clear that its control over this vital maritime corridor is a big, bright red line that neither military, economic nor diplomatic pressure can break."Some want to cash in on battlefield gains through diplomacy and some believe the ceasefire came too soon before Iran had inflicted enough pain on the US," assesses Robert Malley of the International Crisis Group, who was part of the US delegation that negotiated the landmark 2015 nuclear deal US President Donald Trump pulled out of in his first term.

The fragile "no war, no peace" situation since the US and Iran signed a tentative deal last month now seems to have tipped into war.