Kneissl questioned the imminent end of the conflict between the United States and Iran

The current conflict between the United States and Iran is unlikely to end quickly, as their confrontation has been going on since 1979. Karin Kneissl, the former head of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, shared this opinion with Izvestia on June 5 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"I don't think it's going to end soon. The confrontation between the United States and Iran began to a certain extent back in November 1979, <...> all diplomatic ties were severed and harsh sanctions from the United States followed. We are talking about decades of confrontation and the absence of normal contacts," Kneissl explained.

According to her, the last successful attempt to restore dialogue occurred in 2013, when US Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"This led to certain changes, but the expectations were so high that nothing worked. It was a really good agreement," Kneissl said.

Neither war nor peace: what will the new exchanges of blows between Iran and the United States lead to?

Washington and Tehran are stuck in a gray area of negotiations, but still want to make a deal.

On June 5, The Hill newspaper, citing An Economist/YouGov poll, reported that seven out of 10 Americans want an early end to the war with Iran. 68% of Americans believe that the United States should conclude a ceasefire deal "as soon as possible." 11% disagree with this position, and 21% are "not sure".

At the end of May, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that American leader Donald Trump would achieve the implementation of a possible deal with Iran by both military and economic methods.