Iran war: The US is now between the devil and the deep sea

Iran war: The US that launched the war on Iran is now finding out that there is no good option to choose from hereon. Its two alternatives – stay put in the battle or to fall back – are both problematic. 

According to an analysis in the New York Times, Iran has proven adept at extracting a fast-rising economic price for the US and its allies. The global energy markets have gone into a tizzy due to Iran’s retaliation. 

The US has now found itself between the devil and the deep sea.

Thirteen Americans have been killed in action. The report added that the US is deploying 2,500 Marines to West Asia, apart from the 50,000 who are already there. Trump’s voter base is unhappy with his departure from the pledge to avoid getting the US involved in more wars. 

And it is evident to Trump now that battling on would put more American lives at risk, accelerate the financial costs as well as risk further alliances, the report added.

He can choose the alternative of pulling back too but that would mean that most of the objectives he listed out for the attack on Iran would not be met. The report said that the most significant accomplishment of the US-Israel joint attack was the killing of the former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled the country for nearly 40 years.

Even so, the ayatollah’s death has only pushed an emboldened theocracy in power, led by Ali Khamenei’s injured son, Mojtaba Khamenei. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the militias still remain in place. 

If Trump retreats now, the stockpile of near-bomb-grade nuclear fuel would remain inside Iranian territory, within reach of a government very motivated to turn that into weapons. 

While  Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the disruption to the shipping at the Strait of Hormuz is nothing to be worried about, Trump has called on several nations asking them to send naval forces to secure the strait. Oil passes through the strait to them after all, he said. 

Trump has also repeatedly suggested that the war has been won, sometimes that it was won on the first day itself, but also stated that the US would stay on to finish the job.