Kuala Lampur, April 20 -- The fragile ceasefire in West Asia should not be mistaken for the return of stability.

It is a pause imposed by exhaustion, recalibration, and the limits of escalation - not reconciliation.

From a realist perspective, cease-fires do not resolve conflicts; they merely suspend them until the balance of power shifts again.

What is unfolding is not peace, but a transition into a more calculated phase of strategic competition.

Iran, under sustained pressure from the United States, is not seeking decisive confrontation.

Instead, it is pursuing a strategy of attrition - one rooted in time, geography, and asymmetric leverage.

Its control over access and influence in the Strait of Hormuz provides it with a structura...