MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. The next phase of the US-Iran conflict may be the most tense one because although the parties have consistently adhered to a ceasefire, they failed to reach an agreement on key issues, Marat Zembatov, director of the Center of Interdisciplinary Research at the Higher School of Economics’ Institute for Public Administration and Governance, wrote in an op-ed for the TASS website.

According to him, the parties to the conflict "have obtained greater room for maneuver" following a pause for the season of Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage that fell in late May this year.

"However, this freedom does not mean an automatic escalation of violence. Saudi Arabia and other [Gulf] monarchies will seek to navigate the situation towards more predictability because the conflict has exposed risks for vulnerable economies. <...> As for Iran and the US, they will insist more on their negotiation demands. <...> This is exactly why the coming phase will be the most tense one: the parties have already implemented their obligations in terms of regional security during Hajj but have not yet created a new stable security structure," the expert noted.

In Zembatov’s view, a "hybrid ceasefire" will persist in the Persian Gulf area in the coming weeks, with some restrictions lifted but a high state of alert still maintained.