No Easy Off-Ramp: Iran, the US and the Search for a Deal

Are we seeing the potential for a diplomatic off-ramp in the latest phase of the Iran crisis, or just another pause in a much longer confrontation?

The broad picture at the beginning of June 2026 is that the US and Iran appear to be trying to move from immediate crisis management to a more structured negotiation, but the process remains extremely fragile. A reported 60-day ceasefire extension would, in theory, create space for talks on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, easing some economic pressure on Iran, and eventually addressing nuclear concerns. But the hardest issues remain unresolved: Iran's enriched uranium, the future of its nuclear programme, sanctions relief, security guarantees, and the sequencing of who moves first.

In this episode, Professor Ali Ansari, RUSI Senior Associate Fellow, International Security at RUSI, joins host Dr Burcu Ozcelik, to explore the following topics:

- What Tehran wants from the current round of talks.

- Understanding Iran's insistence that Lebanon be included in the ceasefire.

- How much room does the Iranian leadership have to compromise, after war and economic pressure, in the renewed negotiations with Washington?

- After spending decades studying the way the US fights wars, has Iran read the US more accurately than Washington and Israel have read Iran?