🇺🇸🇮🇷Trump’s war on Iran lacks clear path to victory with escalation likely to worsen situation - reports

By pursuing a decisive “win” against Iran, US President Donald Trump risks prolonging a conflict that is much more likely to end in a limited ceasefire, reports Responsible Statecraft.

The US president appears convinced that naval pressure in the Strait of Hormuz and economic squeeze will give him greater leverage, but several factors work against his hoped-for outcome:

➡️ Any meaningful nuclear agreement would require detailed negotiations, binding limits and international inspections. The 2015 Iran deal took years to negotiate before Trump scrapped it in 2018

➡️ Continued attacks could strengthen Iranian voices calling for a nuclear deterrent instead

➡️ The killing of senior Iranian leaders has already strengthened hardliners

➡️ There is no unified opposition movement in Iran potentially capable of replacing the current system

➡️ Economic hardship does not automatically translate into opposition to the government, while continued US attacks serve to rally Iranians around the flag and deepen anti-American sentiment

➡️ Israel's killing of Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani - a pragmatic figure with deep connections inside Iran’s power structure - removed someone who could potentially have helped negotiate with the US

The most realistic exit scenario, argues the publication, is a basic ceasefire that postpones the hardest questions, including the nuclear dispute, for subsequent negotiations, with clearer terms governing the Strait of Hormuz.

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