Hyderabad, April 11 -- The guns have fallen silent, but the battle over narrative has just begun. After nearly 40 days of intense confrontation, the conflict involving Iran, the United States of America and Israel has ended - at least for now - in a fragile ceasefire. 

So, who blinked first? The answer depends largely on perspective. The outcome for Iran is being projected as a historic victory. For the United States, it appears to be a face-saving retreat. And for Israel, many observers describe it as a diplomatic disaster. The same ceasefire, thus, carries three sharply different meanings depending on perspective.

At the outset, the United States under President Donald Trump adopted a muscular and uncompromising posture. The rhet...