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Three months in, is Trump losing the Iran war? | The Straits Times
WASHINGTON, May 23 - U.S. President Donald Trump may have won just about every battle against Iran, but three months after attacking the Islamic Republic he now faces a bigger question: Is he losing the war?With Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, its resistance to nuclear concessions and its theocratic government largely intact, doubts are growing that Trump can translate the U.S. military’s tactical successes into an outcome he can frame convincingly as a geopolitical win.His repeated claims of complete victory ring hollow, some analysts say, as the two sides teeter between uncertain diplomacy and his on-again-off-again threats to resume strikes, which would be sure to draw Iranian retaliation across the region.Trump is now at risk of seeing the U.S. and its Gulf Arab allies emerge from the conflict worse off while Iran, though battered militarily and economically, could end up with greater leverage, having shown it can throttle one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.The crisis is not yet over, and some experts leave open the possibility Trump might still find a face-saving way out if negotiations break in his favor.But others predict a grim post-war outlook for Trump.“We’re three months in, and it’s looking like a war that was designed to be a short-term romp for Trump is turning into a long-term strategic failure,” said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations.For Trump, that matters, especially given his famous sensitivity to being perceived as a loser, an insult he has often lobbed at opponents. In the Iran crisis, he finds himself commander-in-chief of the world’s mightiest military pitted against a second-tier power seemingly convinced it has the upper hand.And this predicament could make Trump, who has yet to define a clear endgame, more likely to resist any compromise that looks like a retreat from his maximalist positions or a repetition of the 2015 Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran that he scrapped in his first term, analysts say.White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said the U.S. has “met or surpassed all of our military objectives in 'Operation Epic Fury'.”“President Trump holds all the cards and wisely keeps all options on the table,” she added.PRESSURE AND FRUSTRATIONTrump campaigned for a second term promising no unnecessary military interventions but has brought the U.S. into an entanglement that could do lasting damage to his foreign policy record and credibility abroad.The c...
Analysis-Three Months In, Is Trump Losing the Iran War?
(This May 23 story has been repeated with no changes to the text)By Matt SpetalnickWASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump may have won just about every battle against Iran, but three months after attacking the Islamic Republic he now faces a bigger question: Is he losing the war? With Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, its resistance to nuclear concessions and its theocratic government largely intact, doubts are growing that Trump can translate the U.S. military’s tactical successes into an outcome he can frame convincingly as a geopolitical win.His repeated claims of complete victory ring hollow, some analysts say, as the two sides teeter between uncertain diplomacy and his on-again-off-again threats to resume strikes, which would be sure to draw Iranian retaliation across the region. Trump is now at risk of seeing the U.S. and its Gulf Arab allies emerge from the conflict worse off while Iran, though battered militarily and economically, could end up with greater leverage, having shown it can throttle one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies. The crisis is not yet over, and some experts leave open the possibility Trump might still find a face-saving way out if negotiations break in his favor. But others predict a grim post-war outlook for Trump.“We’re three months in, and it’s looking like a war that was designed to be a short-term romp for Trump is turning into a long-term strategic failure,” said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations.For Trump, that matters, especially given his famous sensitivity to being perceived as a loser, an insult he has often lobbed at opponents. In the Iran crisis, he finds himself commander-in-chief of the world’s mightiest military pitted against a second-tier power seemingly convinced it has the upper hand.And this predicament could make Trump, who has yet to define a clear endgame, more likely to resist any compromise that looks like a retreat from his maximalist positions or a repetition of the 2015 Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran that he scrapped in his first term, analysts say.White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said the U.S. has “met or surpassed all of our military objectives in 'Operation Epic Fury'.”“President Trump holds all the cards and wisely keeps all options on the table,” she added.PRESSURE AND FRUSTRATIONTrump campaigned for a second term promising no unnecessary military interventions but has brought the U.S. i...
Trump's war loop: Escalate, retreat, repeat - Al Jazeera
The Listening PostStuck in a quagmire of a war, Trump chafes at negative coverage while Iran digs its heels in.For decades, much of the United States media adopted Washington’s framing of US conflicts in the Middle East. But the US-Israel war against Iran is defying that trend. US news outlets are increasingly challenging President Donald Trump on his declarations of victory and absence of a clear strategy.Meanwhile, Iran’s military remains operational, Tehran retains control of the Strait of Hormuz and fears are mounting that the disruption to global energy supplies will drag on.Contributors: Mohamad Elmasry – professor of media studies, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies Negar Mortazavi – host, Iran Podcast Maral Karimi – lecturer, Toronto Metropolitan University Sultan Barakat – senior professor in public policy, Hamad Bin Khalifa UniversityOn our radarIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign trips are usually tightly choreographed affairs. But his trip to Norway did not go according to plan when a journalist named Helle Lyng asked him an unscripted question.Lyng was later criticised by Indian news outlets for that exchange. Norway’s news media also came under fire after the country’s largest newspaper published an orientalist caricature of Modi.Tariq Nafi has been following the story.The dark side of Kenya’s digital ageKenya is the tech hub of East Africa and has built a thriving digital economy. But alongside that growth has come an expanding surveillance apparatus. After antigovernment protests in 2024, President William Ruto’s administration is accused of intensifying its monitoring of civilians. Critics say the government is trying to quell online dissent before it reaches the streets. Nicholas Muirhead reports on how surveillance tools designed to combat “terrorism” are being turned on Kenya’s citizens.Featuring: Victor Ndede – Amnesty International Nanjala Nyabola – author, Digital Democracy Thomas Mukhwana – investigative journalist, Africa UncensoredPublished On 25 May 2026
Strait of Hormuz Iran War: Is Donald Trump losing Iran war? Strait of Hormuz holds key - The Economic Times
And this predicament could make Trump, who has yet to define a clear endgame, more likely to resist any compromise that looks like a retreat from his maximalist positions or a repetition of the 2015 Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran that he scrapped in his first term, analysts say.
