Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Ali Vaez, Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group. As Iran and the US seek an end to the war, an agreement so far remains elusive. Vaez challenges Donald Trump’s claims that a deal is imminent, arguing that Trump is trapped between “an unwinnable war and an unpresentable deal”. Rather than addressing the fundamental disputes surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions, or regional rivalries, the deal would merely restore the status quo: “All this deal would do is to basically consolidate the ceasefire. It would not resolve anything.”