By Al Ahed Staff, Agencies
Further military action by United States President Donald Trump could deepen a strategic “quagmire” for the US, which is already trapped in a dangerous and escalating war with Iran, American journalist Nicholas Kristof has warned.
Writing in The New York Times, Kristof argues that the debate over whether the war will become a quagmire “misses the point”, asserting that “Trump and America are already in one”, as the war risks spiraling economically and militarily.
Kristof highlights the strategic leverage Iran holds over global energy flows, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz. He warns that even if Washington halts its aggression, Tehran could continue disrupting maritime traffic, thus driving up oil prices and straining global supply chains.
The Iranian leadership has set steep conditions for ending the war. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has insisted that any resolution would require recognition of Iran’s legitimate rights, compensation, and guarantees against future attacks, demands Kristof suggests may be negotiable but reflect Tehran’s hardened stance.
In the two previous rounds of negotiations, US officials undermined trust with their Iranian counterparts, culminating in surprise military aggression against the country. On February 28, a joint US- “Israeli” aggression martyred Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and struck multiple sites across the country. The attacks also devastated civilian areas, including a deadly strike on a girls’ school in Minab, where more than 160 civilians, most of them children, were killed.
Since then, US- “Israeli” strikes have continued to target senior Iranian officials, as well as critical civilian infrastructure, expanding to include vital facilities such as desalination plants and key gas and energy networks.
The columnist expresses concern that Trump may attempt to “extricate himself by escalating," pointing to the deployment of US forces and discussions around usurping strategic Iranian assets such as Kharg Island.
Citing calls from figures like Lindsey Graham, Kristof notes that targeting Iran’s oil infrastructure could devastate its economy but raises critical questions about the aftermath of such operations, including the prospect of prolonged occupation and sustained Iranian retaliation.
He further warns that the war could expand regionally to include Iranian allies, such as the Ansarullah movement in Yemen, potentially disrupting additional maritime routes and energy corridors.
Kristof argues that continued military pressure may accelerate Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, rather than deter it. He suggests that past US actions have inadvertently strengthened adversaries, drawing parallels to decisions that contributed to the Vietnam War escalation.
“The threat is real,” he writes, but “doubling down on this failed war may just carry us deeper into this quagmire.”
As a way forward, Kristof proposes that Trump declare victory and pivot toward diplomacy.
"Trump should declare that his war goals in Iran have been achieved, making him the greatest wartime leader since Churchill;
Then he should lean on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "Israel" to also end hostilities against Hezbollah as well as against Iran.
The White House would then plead with Oman to get Iran to return to the negotiating table for secret talks."
He acknowledges that any deal would be imperfect but argues that a negotiated pause, particularly on nuclear enrichment, would be preferable to a prolonged and intensifying war.
Ultimately, Kristof concludes that while no outcome is guaranteed, continuing the current trajectory risks leaving “everyone a loser”, urging a strategic shift away from military escalation toward a political resolution.
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