ExclusiveIran keen on deal to end war but has higher ‘pain tolerance’: think tank chief

However, as the two long-time enemies tried to stare each other down, the Iranian regime believed that their country’s “pain tolerance” was much higher than the Americans’ and this made it unlikely to blink first, he said.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Mohamed Amersi, a Britain-based Iranian and chairman of the Amersi Foundation, said the Iranians were still keen for a memorandum or framework of understanding to be settled as early as this week.

Such a deal would extend the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire beyond its expiration on Wednesday. This initial agreement would then pave the way for a more detailed pact to be concluded within two to three months.

“The expectation is that there should be an MOU next week, signed between Iran and the United States primarily. I am not sure Israel will be part of it, although the continued ceasefire in Lebanon will very much be a part of it.

“And that will then set the stage for a more detailed agreement which could take two to three months to finalise. And ideally these detailed points are likely to be centre stage at the forthcoming summit between President Xi [Jinping] and President [Donald] Trump in Beijing, if it happens,” Amersi, whose foundation tackles diplomacy and conflict resolution among other issues, said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey over the weekend.