With an April 21 deadline looming, the Middle East remains suspended in a volatile state of war and peace. Regional mediators are scrambling to broker a second round of US-Iran talks before the current two-week ceasefire expires, hoping to narrow gaps over nuclear ambitions and the Strait of Hormuz to buy critical time for a lasting truce.

In this episode of Iran Conflict Brief, Daniel Sternoff is joined by Mohammad Ali Shabani to analyze the shifts in Tehran's decision-making and the precarious future of the current diplomatic reprieve.

Shabani, editor of Amwaj.media and a veteran analyst of Persian Gulf power dynamics, provides a rare look inside the competing circles of influence in Tehran. He and Daniel address a fundamental question: if the regime survives this conflict, can the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp ever pivot away from its "resistance" ideology, or is holding global energy flows hostage now an existential pillar of its survival?

Credits: Hosted by Daniel Sternoff. Produced by Mary Catherine O'Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.