Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Washington, D.C. February 4, 2025 (Leah Millis/Reuters)
EA-Irish Examiner Podcast: Trump Does Not Know How to End His “Uncontained War” with Iran
EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Trump Panics Over His War on Iran
UPDATE 1743 GMT:
In a 20-minute special, retired US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton and I joined Times Radio’s Darryl Morris on Saturday night to answer listeners’ questions.
Listen to Discussion from 1:38.58
We analyze the political and military situation inside Iran, including the status of the new Supreme Leader; the differing Israeli and Trump Administration aims — but with “no off-ramp” in the near-fture to end the war; Russia’s assistance to Iran; and the surge in the oil price with effects on unleaded and diesel fuel.
Even Iranians who want changes in regime or reforms are in the position of having to say, “Our nation is being attacked.”
The regime is using that to say, “You may not agree with us but the US and Israel are trying to break the Iranian nation.”
Do you continue to rise up against the regime or do you support your nation against foreign folks trying to bomb you out of existence?
UPDATE, MAR 15:
I joined Dublin NewsTalk’s Pat Kenny Show on Saturday to evaluate the latest threats and disinformation from the Trump camp as it struggles for “victory” over the Iranian regime.
I explain the significance of any US assault on Kharg Island, the hub for almost all of Iran’s oil exports.
But I highlight that even if the Americans occupy Kharg, “unless the Iran regime has fallen, that is going to be a vulnerable point for drone and missile attacks” — and meanwhile the global oil price will spike higher amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Listen from 10:55:
UPDATE 1621 GMT:
I joined France 24 on Saturday morning to analyze the first two weeks of the “uncontained war” from US-Israel attacks on Iran to Iranian retaliation, including the threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.
I reiterate the differences between US and Israeli aims, but how both ran into trouble with the expectation of quick “regime collapse” after the assassination of the Supreme Leader, commanders, and officials on the first day of the war.
I juxtapose the Trump camp’s deceptive rhetoric with the defiance of the regime, and highlight the lack of planning by the Trumpists to prepare for Iranian retaliation or the closure of the Strait.
Is there an off-ramp for Donald Trump? I look at the options for an end to the war, and conclude that none are likely in the near future.
UPDATE, MARCH 14:
I returned to Pakistan TV on Friday to evaluate the escalation of the “uncontained war” in Iran and the Middle East, and whether there is a path to de-escalation.
I discuss the dynamics in the Trump camp, Israel, and Iran. But I also look at other actors, including the Gulf States and Pakistan, to consider their maneuvers amid threats from both sides in the war.
While focusing on these as the most likely way to end the war, I am pessimistic that this will happen in the short term given the Netanyahu Government’s devotion to regime change, the Trump camp’s to blowing stuff up, and the Iran regime’s refusal to surrender.
The other guest is Munir Akram, the former Pakistani Ambassador to the UN. The host is Sana Maqbool.
UPDATE 1655 GMT:
I joined Azerbaijan’s ANewz on Wednesday to dissect the Trump camp’s approach seeking “regime surrender”, but failing to set out a clear path for it.
To the question, “What is the trajectory of this conflict? Has it peaked?”, I cut to the chase over both the war and Iranian retaliation.
There is no way I am going to say this has peaked.
But could US domestic pressure eventually pull back Trump and his advisors?
Watch from 3:01:
UPDATE, MAR 12:
I joined Flux News on Wednesday afternoon to evaluate the “chaos” of the Trump camp’s war on Iran with no regime surrender, the threat to the world’s energy supplies and economies, and no “Plan B”.
The opening question: “Is Donald Trump’s strategy clear?”
My reply: “No. Not at all.”
The tactics are clear from Day 1 when they killed the Supreme Leader and dozens of commanders and officials. But at that point, they thought, “The regime is going to capitulate and surrender to our demands.”
They did not anticipate the retaliation by the Iranian regime.
All they can do is keep on bombing and bombing and bombing.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: I joined international media on Tuesday to evaluate the latest military, political, and economic developments in the US-Israel War on Iran and Iranian retaliation across the Middle East.
I explain how the Iranian regime has refused to surrender after the US-Israel “Plan A” of killing the Supreme Leader and dozens of commanders and officials. So the Trump and Netanyahu camps press on with no “Plan B”, intensifying attacks while making vague, contradictory, and sometimes false statements.
Watch Talk TV from 8:29
I joined Petrie Hosken on Tuesday night for an 18-minute chat, beginning with the propaganda and bluster from both the Trump camp and the Iranian regime.
After dealing with the fact-free declarations of Donald Trump, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Iranian regime spokesperson Seyed Mohammad Marandi — with whom I worked at the University of Birmingham — I get to what we know and don’t know.
The regime is pushing back Trump’s pose that the “war is almost complete” with retaliation across the Gulf States and the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
It’s all well and good for both sides to thump their chests, but the reality is this is an “uncontained” war.
I look at possible off-ramps, but assess that the Trump camp is still not open to Qatar’s mediation effort.
Listen to RTE Radio 1
I joined the Irish outlet at lunchtime on Tuesday to juxtapose Trump’s conflicting statement with his Administration’s objectives — or lack of objectives.
I cut through the misleading declarations of Trump and Hegseth to set out clearly when and why the Administration decided to pursue a war for “regime surrender” — but how they have no apparent plan to achieve this after the regime’s survival beyond US-Israeli strikes.
The off ramp is probably going to be when domestic pressure forces Trump and his inner circle to pull back.
If that pressure grows, then there is an opening for the Gulf States, particularly Qatar, to exploit.
Watch Pakistan TV from 3:00
I join Dr. Munawar Hussain and host Omar Khalid Butt to dissect further the Trump and Iranian positions, and to consider the direction of the “uncontained war”.
“Larijani is from one of Iran’s leading political families…”
Larijani was the remaining iri character that had any significant political weight. The rest of them are light weight that are gonna be at each other’s throat until it all goes down the toilet. Ejei, ghalibaf, zakani are juniors, and the irgc commanders, all put together don’t have brain of a pigeon.
US has burned through ‘years’ of munitions since start of Iran war: https://www.ft.com/content/14713f6f-a1a6-4477-bd10-d3780fbc8ab5
The United States may be unable to support Ukraine and fight another war with China or N. Korea. If the Chinese invade Taiwan, it is game over for the U.S military.
Thirteen days after the fact still they are deciding who is dead and who is alive…..
Khamenei’s wife is alive, IRGC outlet says denying official reports
”
Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, the wife of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is alive and earlier reports claiming she had been killed were incorrect, the IRGC-affiliated Fars News reported Thursday.
The report came after questions were raised earlier in the day when the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, did not mention his mother’s death in his first statement.
In the days following Khamenei’s killing, several state media outlets had reported that his wife had also been killed.”
https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202603119917#202603124592
Iran’s Control of Hormuz Means It’s Exporting More Oil Today Than Before the War:https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/irans-control-of-hormuz-means-its-exporting-more-oil-today-than-before-the-war-ede3cd91?
“Tehran is letting ships carrying its crude go through the strait, while it scares off others”.
This means Iran is actually making profits off of the war whilst Americans pay more at the pump. In effect, Americans and Europeans are sending their money to Tehran.
At Least 17 U.S. Sites Damaged in War With Iran, Analysis Shows: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/11/world/middleeast/iran-us-military-bases-strikes-map.html
“The full extent of damage to U.S. air defense and communication infrastructure remains unclear. Michael Eisenstadt, a director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that the affected radars would be difficult to repair or replace.”
Trump thought his intervention would be cost-free, damage-free and there would be no casualties.
Tehran checkpoints hit in reported drone attacks
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202603116253
In the meantime, your basiji brothers are being hunted like diseased dogs in the streets across iran. What goes around comes around.