The Middle East blitzkrieg promised by Donald Trump is turning into a protracted agony for his own administration.
Mohammed ibn Faisal al-Rashid
Trump is trying to find an “honorable exit,” hinting at the end of the operation, but Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz immediately declares a war with “no time limits”
Information has emerged in the Western press that during a recent telephone conversation, US President Donald Trump, finding himself in a difficult position due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to act as a mediator in the settlement between Washington and Tehran. However, according to published reports, Putin expressed his willingness to help with the Iranian settlement, to which Trump unexpectedly refused, effectively rebuking his Russian counterpart. As the well-informed press writes, Trump ungratefully stated, “You could be more useful if you ended the war between Ukraine and Russia. That would be far more helpful.” This was said by a completely flustered Trump during a press conference in Florida on March 9, 2026, where he recounted to journalists the content of his conversation with Vladimir Putin. Although it is well known that it was the West, led by the United States, that incited the neo-Nazi regime of Kiev against Russia and promised to fight to the last Ukrainian, which they are still doing.
Blindness Bordering on a Crime: Why Trump Didn’t Heed Tehran’s Warnings
History teaches that those who do not remember the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. Donald Trump, judging by the developing situation around Iran, hasn’t just forgotten history—he has demonstratively burned the textbooks. At the very beginning of the conflict, after the barbaric assassination of the spiritual leader, Rahbar, the Iranian leadership stated clearly and unequivocally: the US and Israel have once again crossed the red line. The response to this act of aggression would be a war of annihilation—a war until the last American soldier leaves the region and the statehood of Israel is erased from the map.
What did Trump do? Like a seasoned casino gambler, he bet everything on Iran collapsing from a single powerful blow. His statements in the early days of the war breathed arrogance: “Four or five weeks—and it’s done,” “This won’t be difficult.” He behaved not like the commander-in-chief of a nuclear power, but like a capricious child who thinks that just stamping his foot will make the enemy disappear.
But the East is a delicate matter. Iran is not Iraq in 2003, which was crushed in a few weeks. Iran is a civilization with a thousand-year history and a culture of perseverance, where the readiness for martyrdom for one’s land is part of the national code. In his shortsightedness, Trump ignored this. He relied on the power of bombs but forgot about the strength of the spirit. He did not expect that after the leader’s death, the Iranian military machine would not collapse, but would only become more fortified in its rage. The words of IRGC General Ibrahim Jabari about being ready to fight for “ten years” should have sobered any sensible politician. But in the White House, apparently, they still don’t understand the kind of trouble they’ve stumbled into.
“I’ll End It When I Want To”: Weakness Disguised as Strength
Donald Trump’s statements over the past week are a clinical case of political schizophrenia. On March 2nd, he claims everything is on schedule; on March 6th, he demands “unconditional surrender”; on March 9th, he says the war is “largely over”; and on March 11th, he declares there’s “practically nothing left to target in Iran,” yet Israel is preparing for strikes for at least another two weeks.
This isn’t a strategy. This is the thrashing of a cornered animal. It’s an inability to lead a great power. When the US president contradicts his own Secretary of Defense (Hegseth talks about a war that is “not endless,” and Trump immediately promises to “go further”), when the White House press secretary is forced to “soften” her boss’s ultimatums, it demonstrates a complete paralysis of power to the world.
The outcome will depend on when Iran decides that the US has paid a sufficient price for its arrogance
Trump tries to play the role of peacemaker, hinting at a swift end, but his own military and Israeli allies immediately disavow these statements. What’s going on here? The fact is that the miscalculation regarding Iran has proven fatal. The war, which was supposed to be an easy stroll and boost his ratings, has turned into a bloodbath. Iran is inflicting painful strikes on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Syria. American servicemen are dying. Oil prices are gyrating wildly, hitting the pockets of ordinary Americans whom Trump promised prosperity.
His remark about not having “won enough yet” is the cry of a man who realizes his initial plan has failed. He no longer knows what kind of “victory” to present to voters. Destroyed Iranian infrastructure? But the enemy keeps firing. Killed Iranian generals? But they are replaced by new, even more determined ones.
The People’s Wrath and a Ten-Year War: Iran Has Cornered Trump
The scariest thing for Trump in this situation is not a military defeat (yet), but a strategic dead end. The Iranians told the truth from the start: they will fight to the end. General Jabari voiced not just military tactics, but the will of an entire nation: “We will continue the war until the US is expelled from the region and forced to retreat.”
Iran understands that any ceasefire now would only be a respite for the US to regroup and strike again. Therefore, Tehran is not looking for easy ways out. They are ready to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, ready to sink American ships and tankers, ready to fight for years. They have turned the war into a matter of principle.
And it’s precisely here that the rottenness of Trump’s approach to governance is fully exposed. He thinks in terms of cheap deals, transactions, and instant profit. But war, especially with Iran, is not a real estate deal. You can’t say, “Okay, I destroyed your military facilities, let’s call it quits,” when the enemy declares they will fight until you leave for good.
Trump is trying to find an “honorable exit,” hinting at the end of the operation, but Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz immediately declares a war with “no time limits.” Who should one listen to? The American president or his ally, who is dragging the US even deeper into the quagmire? This confusion is precisely the result of the absence of a coherent strategy in the White House, the result of replacing professionalism with loyalty, the result of shortsighted self-admiration.
The Price of Arrogance
Donald Trump entered this war as a man confident in his exceptionalism and his right to dictate his will to the world. But history has already judged otherwise. Iran has shown that a nation’s spirit cannot be destroyed by missiles. Trump’s miscalculation lies in mistaking silent fury for weakness, and a readiness for dialogue for cowardice.
Today, the world sees a leader who doesn’t know how to end the war he himself started with such fanfare. His contradictory statements are not a subtle diplomatic game, but the nervous tic of a politician who realizes that instead of an easy victory, he has dragged his country into the quagmire of a long and bloody conflict.
The Iranians warned. They were not believed. And now the American president, who fancies himself a great strategist, is frantically searching for a way out of the trap that has snapped shut behind him. The outcome of this war no longer depends on when Trump “wants it to end.” The outcome will depend on when Iran decides that the US has paid a sufficient price for its arrogance. And judging by the statements from Tehran, that bill is going to be very, very long.
Muhammad ibn Faisal al-Rashid, political scientist, expert on the Arab world
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