Pakistan, June 25 -- After nearly two weeks of relentless escalation, Iran and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire. The truce, mediated with Qatar's assistance and aggressively claimed by Donald Trump as a diplomatic coup, marks a temporary halt in a conflict that brought the region to the brink. But while the bombing has paused, the underlying drivers of confrontation remain not only unresolved but, in some cases, further entrenched.

This ceasefire did not emerge from negotiation, let alone reconciliation. It was driven by exhaustion, diplomatic pressure, and the recognition that neither side would emerge with a strategic victory. Iran, after absorbing coordinated U.S.-Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities, retaliated in kind, launchi...