After thirteen nights of airstrikes, the United States has paused its military campaign against Iran, creating a fragile opening in a conflict that has quietly reshaped global energy flows and regional stability since late February. At the center of the dispute lies the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow passage whose closure has reminded the world how tightly bound economics and geopolitics remain. Both nations, exhausted by escalation yet wary of concession, are now testing whether diplomacy can hold what force could not resolve. The pause is real, but history counsels patience before calling it pe