ISLAMABAD: When joint US and Israeli strikes hit Iranian soil on 28 February, US President Donald Trump announced the launch of "major combat operations". The military campaign targeted key infrastructure and leadership, culminating in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, stepped swiftly into the vacuum to assume leadership of Iran. 

Weeks of heavy bombardment followed until April 8, when Washington and Tehran agreed to a temporary two-week ceasefire. 

Diplomacy then took center stage. Later that month, Pakistan hosted historic face to face talks between US and Iranian officials, the first direct meetings between the two nations in 47 years. While the Islamabad summit produced no final breakthrough, both sides maintained contact. High level negotiations moved to Switzerland on June 20 after a preliminary framework agreement, followed by further rounds in Doha on July 1, where mediators reported "positive progress."

That progress proved short-lived.

On July 8, a fresh wave of US strikes hit Iranian targets following unattributed strikes on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran retaliated immediately, reigniting active hostilities across the vital maritime trade corridor and plunging the region back into uncertainty.