British Minister: Trump’s Iran Folly Could Become an Irreversible Strategic Mistake
Former British Foreign Secretary William Hague warned that US President Donald Trump’s involvement in a war with Iran could become an irreversible strategic mistake. Meanwhile, two writers at Axios highlighted a series of contradictory statements by President Trump, ranging from military threats to assurances of achieving “total victory.”
In an article for The Times, Hague noted that the past few days have seen drone attacks thousands of kilometers away, one on a Russian port and the other on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, both causing significant damage.
Accordingly, Hague argued that Trump has committed a geostrategic blunder, embroiling the United States in an unnecessary war with Iran, in which Russia is providing vital support to the enemy in an attempt to kill Americans. Trump, he added, still believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is someone with whom negotiations are possible and that Ukraine should effectively submit to him.
In both wars, Trump, according to the author, assumed that the weaker party in the conflict had no choice but to accept a humiliating defeat. However, Ukraine wouldn’t need to do so if it received sufficient support, and the Iranian regime has no intention of surrendering. The result, he argues, is a strategic blunder by the White House on a staggering scale.
The former minister explains that Trump committed a major strategic error by intervening in a war with Iran simply to project power, while Russia benefits from the oil market disruption, and China grows stronger in the strategic and economic arenas.
As the war continues, the author argues, Trump is finding it increasingly difficult to maintain an American foothold in the Gulf, while the global economy becomes more fragile.
Haig points out that Trump’s options are limited, and the best course of action remains negotiating a general truce with Iran to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open and to avoid a further escalation that could lead to a global recession and a significant rise in oil prices, at a time when China is exploiting the situation to bolster its strategic and economic influence.
Instead, Trump is putting himself in a bind, because it has been known from the outset that the chances of toppling the Iranian regime through airstrikes are extremely low, and that the likelihood of Tehran accepting any American plan similar to the 15-point plan is zero.
As Trump searches for a way out, he continues to talk about the possibility of a deal, diminishing its impact on financial markets each time, while simultaneously threatening dire consequences such as seizing the Iranian oil port on Kharg Island.
In this context, Herb Scribner and Josephine Walker wrote a report for Axios, stating that Trump has repeatedly declared the end of the war very near, but this has come amidst a series of contradictory statements that alternate between military threats and assurances of a “total victory.”
He once described the operation as a complete success, saying, “No one but me could have done this, and you know that.” On another occasion, he said, “The war in Iran will be over very soon. Iran is completely finished. We can consider it a tremendous success now.”
However, Trump threatened to “destroy” Iran’s energy and water infrastructure if an agreement to end the war was not reached, adding, “If the Strait of Hormuz is not opened immediately, we will end our lovely stay in Iran by attacking those facilities.”
At a cabinet meeting, Trump said of the Iranians, “They have been defeated. They cannot come back.” He then declared the war over and predicted regime change in Iran, adding, “We have won this war. This war is over.”
While the United States has deployed some 50,000 troops to the Middle East, the White House has not set a clear end date for the conflict. Trump has emphasized that military objectives are being achieved “on or ahead of schedule,” while continuing to hint at possible peace deals, without committing to a final end to operations.