🔻Two weeks after the latest round of clashes between Iran and the United States, both sides again say they want negotiations and de-escalation. Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, announced that attacks against Iran have been temporarily halted to give diplomacy another chance.

At the same time, the Tasnim news agency reported that a tanker was blown up after hitting a mine in the Strait of Hormuz. The agency, affiliated with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, said that the tanker, with its radar turned off, intended to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

In another development, Anadolu Agency, citing sources in Pakistan’s government, reported that Tehran and Washington have responded to a joint proposal by Islamabad and Doha to end the war.

Is it possible to have hope for this round of negotiations? Shakriya Bradost, a researcher on international security at the Virginia Tech university, answers.