U.S. and Iran Blow Through Deadline to Agree to a Broad Deal to End War

The United States and Iran on Monday missed their 60-day deadline to reach a deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear program under the terms of the cease-fire they agreed to in June, underlining the breakdown of a truce that President Trump promised would end the war. Mr. Trump had announced the so-called memorandum of understanding between the two countries with great fanfare two months ago. But the short-lived agreement failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively blockaded after Israel and the United States attacked in late February, or end a conflict that has entered its sixth month. The expiration of deadline is largely symbolic, as both Mr. Trump and Iran’s leaders have said in recent weeks that the deal is basically dead. But the milestone nonetheless shows how Mr. Trump has struggled to achieve his war aims — like forcing Iran to curtail its nuclear ambitions — and how emboldened the Iranian government feels, with the two countries at risk of further military conflict. There have been no publicly reported U.S. strikes on Iranian targets since late July. But the United States and Iran appear to be gearing up for a protracted campaign of economic attrition that could easily tip over into renewed warfare, analysts said. Iran is wielding its control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil and gas shipping, to choke global energy markets, raising pressure on Mr. Trump to reach a deal. The Trump administration has rescinded the sanctions waivers on Iranian oil, which it issued during the brief truce. U.S. forces have also reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports, hoping that squeezing Iran economically will force it to make concessions. But Iran’s leaders are betting that the country can endure more economic pain than the United States, especially as Mr. Trump faces midterm elections in November. “The Islamic republic is trying to put the economic crunch on America, and America is trying to put the economic crunch on the Islamic republic,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based research institute. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .