War with Iran a 'total policy failure' pushing US to brink: The Nation
Tehran - BORNA - Writing for the American magazine, political analyst David Faris noted that as Washington's military campaign stumbles into its eighth month, US President Donald Trump has appeared largely detached from the grim reality on the ground, alternating between campaign distractions and bellicose rhetoric while the crisis accelerates toward catastrophe.
Trump recently claimed to reporters en route to Dallas that the conflict would conclude "immediately after our election," before telling a rally crowd that Tehran was merely holding out to negotiate with Democrats. Faris dismissed these remarks as self-serving delusions, pointing out that any theoretical Democratic congressional majorities would neither assume power until January 2027 nor hold executive negotiating authority over foreign policy.
Faris observed that conditions in the Persian Gulf have deteriorated far beyond what Pentagon planners anticipated. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely paralyzed, with daily oil tanker transits plummeting from approximately 100 per day prior to the war to single digits this month.
The maritime disruption has driven Brent crude prices well above $100 per barrel, while US diesel fuel has climbed to record highs exceeding $6 per gallon, heavily straining domestic transport and agricultural supply chains. Rather than stabilizing the fallout, interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve have exacerbated domestic economic strains, pushing US bond yields to their highest levels since 2008.
Regionally, Faris highlighted that Yemeni forces have expanded their asymmetric leverage, inflicting severe damage on Saudi Arabia's vital East-West crude pipeline—forcing its shutdown for weeks—while capturing the Red Sea port of Mokha and Perim Island at the mouth of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Overextended and wary of widening the regional confrontation, the Trump administration has largely ignored Riyadh's pleas for military assistance.
The analysis further stressed that Washington's maritime blockade has failed to break the Islamic Republic's resolve. Despite early Western claims that Iran's defense industrial base had been dismantled, Tehran has maintained substantial deterrent firepower, reportedly relocated key missile assembly lines deeper underground beyond the reach of American bunker busters, and preserved its stockpiles of enriched uranium.
Faris concluded that the war has proven to be a devastating policy failure that has significantly reinforced Tehran's strategic posture while exposing American vulnerabilities. By consolidating leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has secured an enduring economic weapon capable of dictating terms to Washington, leaving ordinary Americans to endure the escalating costs of an unresolved and miscalculated imperial gamble.
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