Experts cautioned against premature optimism following the announcement of a framework agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending their conflict, arguing that many of the issues that triggered the war remain unresolved.
"Even if it holds, it leaves remaining the hard issues: Iran's nuclear program, support for proxies, missiles and drones, and domestic repression - in other words, the reasons for the war in the first place," Richard Fontaine, chief executive of the Center for a New American Security, wrote on X on Sunday.
Fontaine said the accord was therefore far from marking the end of the conflict, or even "the beginning of the end," but could represent a first step in the right direction.
Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace also said he did not view the agreement as bringing the war to an end.
"The thorniest issues have been deferred for future negotiations, and I'm not terribly optimistic that they're going to be resolved in a 60-day timeframe," he told US broadcaster CNN.
The United States and Iran earlier announced a preliminary agreement after weeks of negotiations aimed at creating a path out of the conflict.
