Srinagar, June 10 -- The US-Israel war against the Republic of Iran is at an attritional stage. In this theatre of conflict, the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint is again critical: the US gambit is that its chokehold, along with sanctions, imposes such economic costs on the Islamic Republic that it will accept US terms.

Tehran, on the other hand, appears to calculate that its continued resistance to Washington will raise the same costs for the US through the global economy.

In the interregnum, there are back-and-forth parleys between the two countries and some skirmishes. The skirmishes reflect each side's power capabilities and resolve.

But the question is: at this stage of the war, what is the core sticking point?

It appears that the nub...