"A two-week ceasefire is going to be very unstable," Council Lester Crown Senior Nonresident Rachel Bronson says. "You need to have some stability for tankers to move in and out, so anything that threatens that will continue this crisis and keep energy prices high."
"The US has achieved a type of tactical victory," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Paul Poast says. "But the terms that are on the table right now would put Iran in a position to be able to control the Strait of Hormuz and actually be in a stronger position than they were even prior to the war."
"Ceasefires are incredibly precarious," says Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri.  "But it does give at least a pause—at least a window—to try and push forward more of a negotiation, especially on the question of the nuclear conditions."
As the conflict in the Middle East escalates, Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri joins Bloomberg Open Interest to discuss the reasons why a cease-fire with Iran remains unlikely.
" Even talking about the US formally leaving or just slowly disengaging sends a very dangerous signal to Moscow," Council Distinguished Nonresident Fellow Ambassador Julianne Smith said of President Trump's remarks about withdrawing from NATO.
Targeting Iran's public utilities would constitute a war crime, Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Paul Poast tells NBC 5 Chicago. "There's supposed to be distinction between military and civilian [targets]."
"This is an intervention, a war, a conflict that the US began," says Council Distinguished Nonresident Fellow Ambassador Julianne Smith. "It did not take any information about this intervention to the NATO allies to warn them that there could be asks coming from the United States."
"This is a very deeply unpopular war," Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri says of the widening Iran conflict. "If we see boots on the ground, if we see high-risk operations undertaken, I think that will really galvanize Congress and the American public."
