US President Donald Trump appears to have hit a dead end with Iran, as the Islamic Republic, despite all hard rhetoric, threats, and even going through with some of them by way of direct military action, has refused to budge an inch from its long-held position.
Amid shifting goals, and constant mixed signals, the status of the US in the Iran war has become difficult to judge, for while Trump and his top aides insist that the US has already won the war, and that Iran is ready to reach an agreement in the wake of escalating military threats from Washington during a tenuous ceasefire, Iran claims the exact opposite.
Trump recently backed off from his plans of conducting a military strike against Iran, which he says was on the behest of Gulf Arab states, who opined that because “serious negotiations are now taking place, and that, in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond.”
Although he called off the planned strikes. Trump has kept up a tough face, and announced that he has instructed military leaders “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large-scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached”. He has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran, only to back off at the last instant.
Despite growing internal unrest, a crippled economy and the deaths of much of its key leadership figures, Iran remains poised to act against any US military action, having rejected most of Trump’s demands, and threatened its own slew of military action, that has left much of Trump’s objectives unrealised, with Iran yet to agree on abandoning its ballistic missile development programme, cease support for its proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah in the region, or most importantly of all, agree to dismantle its nuclear programme completely.
