Level 1 - Absolute Beginner

The United States and Israel started a war against Iran 100 days ago. Today, June 7, marks that important milestone. The two sides have not made a peace deal yet.

In April, Pakistan helped both sides agree to stop fighting. This agreement is called a ceasefire. But both sides have broken the ceasefire many times since then.

Iran says the United States broke the ceasefire again this week. American forces shot down Iranian drones near a very important waterway called the Strait of Hormuz.

The two sides are talking about peace but cannot agree. The main problems are Iran's nuclear programme, money Iran says it is owed, and who controls the Strait of Hormuz.

ceasefire

an agreement between two sides in a war to stop fighting for a period of time

milestone

an important point or moment, such as the 100th day of something

nuclear programme

a country's activities connected to building or researching nuclear technology

drone

an unmanned flying machine that can be controlled from a distance

waterway

a river, sea lane or strait that ships use to travel through

sanctions

economic restrictions placed on a country by other countries to pressure it to change

negotiate

to talk with another party to try to reach an agreement

mediate

to help two sides in a conflict find a peaceful solution

Level 2 - Elementary

The war between the United States, Israel and Iran has reached its 100th day on Sunday, June 7. Despite weeks of peace talks, the two sides appear very far from a final agreement. The conflict began in late February 2026 and is deeply unpopular among the American public.

A ceasefire brokered by Pakistan on April 8 brought a temporary pause to the fighting. However, the truce has been broken many times by both sides. This week, Iran formally accused the United States of violating the ceasefire after US warships intercepted Iranian drones flying toward the Strait of Hormuz.

Peace negotiations are deadlocked over three main issues. First, Iran's nuclear programme - the US and its allies insist that Iran must limit its uranium enrichment. Second, the lifting of economic sanctions that have severely damaged the Iranian economy. Third, the question of who controls the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

Russia and China have called for an emergency closed-door session at the United Nations Security Council to address the rising tensions. The war continues to be politically difficult for President Trump, who has so far failed to build broad support among the American public for the conflict.

ceasefire

an agreement between warring parties to temporarily stop all military operations

deadlocked

in a situation where talks have completely stopped because neither side will change its position

sanctions

economic penalties placed on a country by other nations to pressure it to change its policies

intercept

to stop or block something - such as a drone or missile - before it can reach its target

uranium enrichment

the process of increasing the concentration of a specific form of uranium, which can be used for energy or weapons

truce

a temporary agreement to stop fighting, similar to a ceasefire but often less formal

negotiations

formal discussions between two or more parties aimed at reaching an agreement

strategically vital

extremely important for military or economic reasons because of its location or resources

Level 3 - Intermediate

Sunday marks the 100th day of the US-Israel conflict with Iran, a sobering milestone that finds peace negotiators no closer to a comprehensive settlement than they were when Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif brokered the April 8 ceasefire. That agreement extended into a 60-day memorandum of understanding, yet violations by both sides have continued almost daily, with the past week described by American officials as the worst flare-up in tensions since the truce began.

Iran's Foreign Ministry formally accused US forces of breaching the ceasefire after American warships intercepted six Iranian Shahed-class drones near the Strait of Hormuz and struck two coastal radar installations. Tehran's IRGC issued new escalatory warnings in response, while Russia and China jointly called for an emergency closed-door session of the UN Security Council under provisional rules governing emergency consultations.

Substantive talks have been blocked by three unresolved issues. The United States and its allies insist that Iran accept strict limits on uranium enrichment and submit to enhanced IAEA inspections before any sanctions are lifted. Iran, for its part, is demanding an immediate suspension of all Office of Foreign Assets Control financial restrictions, an end to the naval blockade of the Persian Gulf, and formal recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Neither side has shown any willingness to move significantly from its opening position.

The 100-day mark has heightened political pressure on the Trump administration. Polling consistently shows the conflict unpopular with a majority of Americans, with Republican lawmakers in competitive districts growing visibly nervous ahead of November mid-term elections. Critics have also noted that Trump has repeatedly failed to rally broader international support for a war that was launched without a UN Security Council mandate.

memorandum of understanding

a formal agreement between two parties outlining their intentions, but falling short of a binding treaty

flare-up

a sudden and intense renewal of violence or tension after a period of relative calm

IAEA

the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations body that monitors nuclear programmes worldwide

provisional rules

temporary procedures used by an organisation when standard rules do not apply to an unusual situation

uranium enrichment

the process of concentrating a particular isotope of uranium, required for both nuclear power and weapons production

mandate

official authorisation granted by a body such as the UN Security Council to carry out a particular action

blockade

the use of military force to prevent ships, goods or people from entering or leaving a region

escalatory

Level 4 - Advanced

One hundred days into the US-Israel military campaign against Iran, the conflict has settled into a dispiriting pattern of periodic ceasefire violations, tactical escalation and inconclusive shuttle diplomacy, with no credible path to a comprehensive settlement visible to analysts monitoring the talks. The April 8 ceasefire, brokered by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and subsequently extended into a 60-day memorandum of understanding, has functioned less as a genuine truce than as a framework for managed confrontation in which both sides test each other's thresholds without triggering a return to full-scale operations.

The most recent flashpoint came when US warships attached to the Fifth Fleet intercepted six Iranian Shahed-class loitering munitions en route toward the Strait of Hormuz and conducted suppression-of-enemy-air-defences strikes against two Iranian coastal radar installations on Qeshm Island and near Goruk. Tehran's IRGC Aerospace Force characterised the strikes as a clear violation of the April 8 instrument and threatened asymmetric retaliation, while the Iranian UN Mission formally notified the Secretary-General under Article 51 of the UN Charter. Russia and China promptly invoked Provisional Rule 48 to convene an emergency closed-door Security Council consultation, underscoring the degree to which the conflict has become a proxy arena for great-power competition.

The substantive obstacles to a settlement remain the same three issues that have deadlocked every round of indirect talks: Iran's nuclear programme, where Washington and its European partners are demanding a return to sub-20-percent enrichment with continuous IAEA centrifuge monitoring and US allies insist on a 'zero enrichment' formula for at least a decade; OFAC sanctions architecture, where Iran wants immediate and verifiable suspension of all primary and secondary financial restrictions and the US is offering staged relief contingent on nuclear compliance; and the Strait of Hormuz, where Tehran is pressing for a formal recognition of Iranian jurisdiction over the 39-kilometre-wide chokepoint through which roughly 20 percent of globally traded oil transits daily.

The centennial mark has crystallised the political costs accruing to the Trump administration domestically and internationally. Aggregate polling from six major US polling organisations places opposition to the war at 58 to 64 percent, with independents running 67 percent against continuing military operations. Republican incumbents in suburban House districts that shifted narrowly toward the GOP in 2024 are now trailing in internal polling, and the National Republican Congressional Committee has quietly stopped defending the war's strategic rationale in its messaging guidance. At the multilateral level, only three of Washington's traditional European partners have offered logistical support; the majority have declined to endorse military action launched without a Security Council mandate, creating a conspicuous gap between US expectations of allied solidarity and the actual coalition assembled.