Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

The fighting has not stopped since negotiations in Islamabad came to a halt. US President Donald Trump’s dangerous decision to impose a blockade on Iran’s maritime trade has disrupted the entire landscape, as Iran is now threatening to target Gulf ports.

After the failure of negotiations in Islamabad, the next move is Washington’s to make. It now faces a different set of challenges. The first is deciphering Iranian code: not every “yes” is an affirmation and not every “no” is a definitive rejection.

Merchants of rumors and conspiracy theorists, much like merchants of war, feed off people’s fears and anxieties.

Talk of restoring the shah’s monarchy has surged since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran two weeks ago, more than at any time since the fall of the Pahlavi regime in the late 1970s.