US-Iran Ceasefire Likely To Hold For 2 Weeks - Expert

MOSCOW, April 9 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- The ceasefire agreement reached between the United States and Iran will likely hold for the announced two weeks, Roderick Kiewiet, professor of Political Science at the California Institute of Technology, told RIA Novosti.

On Tuesday night, US President Donald Trump said that he had agreed to a two-week bilateral ceasefire with Iran, assuring that Iran had also agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian Supreme National Security Council said thereafter that Tehran would begin talks with the US on Friday in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

"Yes, I think it will hold for the two-week period that pertains to it. After that, who knows, but I think it will persist," Kiewiet said.

Meanwhile, Gareth Jenkins, a non-resident senior research fellow with the Joint Centre Silk Road Studies Programme and Turkiye Centre at the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Stockholm, expressed his hope that a deal could finally be reached between Washington and Tehran during the talks in Islamabad.

"I really hope that a deal can be reached and that the killing stops. Too many people have already died. There is always hope," Jenkins told RIA Novosti.

However, the sides still appear "too far apart", the expert said.

On Feb 28, the United States and Israel launched strikes on targets in Iran, including in Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran responded by striking Israeli territory and US military facilities in West Asia. The strikes against Iran occurred despite Oman-brokered talks between Washington and Tehran on the Iranian nuclear issue in Geneva.

-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI