Over the last weekend in June, the United States and Iran exchanged strikes in a sudden burst of violence, only to agree to “stand down” before markets opened. While the pattern has repeated itself throughout the war, this instance came after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), in which both sides outwardly agreed to stop fighting in a deal that extended to their allies, such as Israel and Hezbollah. This sort of ceasefire-in-name-only, however, is a familiar pattern to analysts, who say that this could serve as a preview of the long-term future of the Iran war.
On June 27, the U.S. struck Iranian targets and in turn, Iran struck targets in Bahrain and Kuwait. Both sides accused the other of violating the terms of the MOU, signed on June 17, with Iran threatening to withdraw completely from negotiations if the U.S. continued its attacks.
