Trump says he won. Iran says its winning. Can both be right?
Iran Believes It’s Winning
The Wall Street Journal reports Iran Believes It’s Winning—and Wants a Steep Price to End the War
Three weeks into the war, the Iranian regime is signaling that it believes it is winning and has the power to impose a settlement on Washington that entrenches Tehran’s dominance of Middle East energy resources for decades to come.
This attitude may prove to be a dangerous misreading of President Trump’s determination, or of Israel’s capacity to inflict strategic blows on the Islamic Republic’s surviving leadership and military capabilities.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have given mixed signals on how long the war would go on, as they try to talk markets down and keep Tehran guessing. Netanyahu said Thursday that the war would end “a lot faster than people think.” Trump said this week the U.S. would wrap up the conflict in the “near future” even as the Pentagon dispatched thousands of additional Marines to the Middle East.
The problem is, Iran also has a say in when the guns fall silent—and, for now, it seems to think time works to its benefit.
Despite optimistic U.S. and Israeli pronouncements about destroying launchers and missile stocks, Iran has retained the ability to fire dozens of ballistic missiles, and many more drones, every day across the Middle East.
Instead of declining, the rate of fire actually picked up in recent days compared with 10 days ago. Iranian strikes inflicted catastrophic damage this week on key energy installations in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates—while Iran’s own oil exports kept booming.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf’s chokepoint, remains only possible with Iranian permission. Surging oil and gas prices, meanwhile, are exacting growing pain on economies worldwide—and putting pressure on Trump to end the war that he began in expectation of swift victory on Feb. 28.
“The Iranians aren’t ready to end the war because they have learned an important lesson: They can, comparatively easily and cheaply, cause a lot of damage and disruption. They now want the whole world to learn that lesson, too,” said Dina Esfandiary, an analyst on Iran and author of a book on Iran’s foreign relations.
Seeing its leverage, Tehran has pledged that it will agree to a cease-fire only if Washington and the Gulf states pay a steep price. The spokesman of the Iranian Parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee, Ebrahim Rezaei, said after Friday’s meeting with military commanders that any talks with the U.S. are off the agenda as Tehran “focuses on punishing the aggressors.” Other Iranian leaders have been just as triumphalist, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi describing Iran as another Vietnam for the U.S.
“This hubris is dangerous because they are not smart enough to understand that President Trump will never let them win. They don’t understand how far he’s willing to go,” said Jason Greenblatt, who served as the White House special envoy for the Middle East in the first Trump administration. “This can come at a huge cost, but the cost of not taking care of the problem will be many times more expensive over many, many years.”
Demands voiced by Iranian leaders in recent days as conditions for ending the war include massive reparations from the U.S. and its allies and the expulsion of American military forces from the region. They have also called for transforming the Strait of Hormuz—an international waterway where free navigation is guaranteed under international law—into an Iranian toll booth controlling one-third of the world’s shipborne crude oil.
Hubris by Iran, US, or Both?
It’s quite the irony for the administration or US analysts to be talking about Iranian hubris. Trump thought this would be a cakewalk, over in a few days.
Trump bragged six time that the war was over already.
The war is not over. It’s ongoing for over three weeks now. And after bragging the US and Israel destroyed all of Iran’s missile sites, Iran has stepped up missile attacks.
It’s important to understand the war would not be over even if Trump declared the end of the war tomorrow.
The war will be over only when both sides say it’s over.
Iran’s demand are not realistic, of course. But they are no more unreasonable than Trump’s ridiculous demands on day one for Iran to surrender and Trump having a say in picking Iran’s new leader.
In retrospect, Iran’s demands are less unreasonable than what Trump stated.
What’s Iran’s Real Game?
I believe the near-term goal is to hang on long enough so Republicans get clobbered in the Midterm elections.
That is very likely. Republican loss of the House is nearly certain.
The betting markets have the Senate at roughly 50-50. That’s my take too, for now. But if there’s a recession, or if inflation gets much worse, I think we see a massive Democrat sweep.
Meanwhile, as long as both sides have demands the other side cannot accept, the war will go on.
Militarily, time may be on the US side, barring another Afghanistan or Vietnam boots on the ground setup. Pressure will certainly be on Trump to declare “victory” by whatever measure he wants.
However, politically and economically (think deficit spending), time is definitely on Iran’s side.
This was a stupid war for Trump to start. Trump will pay a huge political price. The US and the world will pay a huge economic price.
It may take a decade to fully restore all of the damaged facilities.
And it’s not just the war. Nothing much as gone right for Trump. Tariffs, inflation, and a disastrous deportation policy have all been disasters.
Yet, Trump has bragged incessantly, about everything. Hubris all the way.
Related Posts
March 20, 2026: Trump Seeks $200 Billion for the War, Says ‘We’re Not Putting Troops Anywhere’
It’s $200 billion today, how much tomorrow?
March 20, 2026: Trump Sends Thousands More Troops and 3 More Warships to the Middle East
One day after saying ‘We’re Not Putting Troops Anywhere’ comes this announcement.
March 20, 2026: The Odds of at Least One Fed Rate Hike by October Surge to 25 Percent
What Happened?
- Fed Governor Christopher Waller changed his tune from supporting rate cuts.
- Trump is sending more troops and warships to the Middle East. This has rattled the markets.
March 21, 2026: Trump Considers Winding Down’ Iran Operations. Great, But What Does that Mean?
Let’s discuss three possibilities.
Will Trump’s surrender happen on an aircraft carrier? Japan surrendered on a carrier and Bush celebrated mission accomplished on one.
An excellent article by the WSJ, and it’s by no means a favorite of mine, but spot on in many instances!
Both sides can’t be winning the war, but yet they both bluster about it. What exactly does winning mean? The least cost paid? The fewest soldiers eliminated? Public Opinion perhaps? Maybe it’s the one with Food & Water left? The one with energy, although they both have that? WhatThen?
Both sides also think they have the power to impose a settlement on one another. If that were the case, the war never would have started in the first place. I think both sides seem to be willing to do whatever it takes. That’s not only dangerous, but does our side really and truly know what that capability implies on the other side? If they have? Will they use? It could get very dicey…
Eye Opener: They can, comparatively easily and cheaply, cause a lot of damage and disruption. They now want the whole world to learn that lesson, too,”
Hubris by Iran, US, or Both? I would have to say both, as neither has any say at the moment. Nobody has won yet, or even in a position to say so. Is it even about winning, and if so what does that look like? That has to be agreed upon, for a clear winner to emerge I do believe…
– That is very likely. Republican loss of the House is nearly certain. > I cannot agree with that, and it could be quite the opposite. This remains to be seen…
– This was a stupid war for Trump to start. > All wars are stupid to start, and nobody truly wins on either side, do they?
You left out the reason for the war in the first place. Epstein Fury was stated to distract from the rape of children by Trump and other powerful perverts
> The betting markets have the Senate at roughly 50-50.
One would hope much better odds. Shows most empire’s serfs just don’t care what their empire does in their name.
Wish I could stop caring what the empire does to *the serfs* themselves in their name. But me and all my few remaining friends are serfs.
Iran is only winning because they have not given up. If you look at the damage each is causing they are about equal. Israel and the US have damaged an enormous amount of infrastructure in Iran and Iran has damaged the world economy and US and Israeli reputation enormously. Iran has also shown that they control the flow of oil in the Middle East. I would call it a draw at this point.
Going forward, I can’t see how the US and Israel can gracefully walk away and claim victory. At anytime Iran can quit and hold its head high and say we were attacked by the cowards of the largest military in the world and held our ground and we have made our point.
The only way for the US to win is a long war with boots on the ground beating Iran into total submission. I don’t think the US has the stomach for that.
– Iran is only winning because they have not given up. > That’s called stubborn and an unyielding leadership, that cares nothing about its people, but instead simply money and power. Now that’s gone, and plan B is to assume it’s all still there. Unless they get tons, literally, of weaponry, and not just drones and fodder material, then it will be many decades before they are even partly rebuilt. They have near zero dominance by force, and that gets worse for them with every passing day.
– If you look at the damage each is causing they are about equal. They have practically nothing left, and we are just fine?
– At anytime Iran can quit and hold its head high. > By being stubborn? They can say we were attacked by one of the largest military in the world and lost everything we had as a people. We have made our point and will pay dearly for it. We lost all our so called friend’s in the Region and now only have enemies, we have no military, no support, and no money. Little food and resources, and are now crying for help from all our enemies to survive… Please, pretty please, we have nothing!!!
– The only way for the US to win is a long war with boots on the ground. > Why? No long war needed, and shortly, once the strait is opened and safe, it’s over for the US. We don’t need or use their oil, of which they really don’t have much anymore to get do they?
Iran is winning. Daily demands they do this or that. The longer this goes on the more dominoes fall globally. Basically WW III has started and there is only going to be more pain globally the longer it continues. You do not rattle the Nuke saber if you are winning.
Trump waives sanctions on Iran and Russia.
“Always remove all obstacles to your opponents economic success, this will cause them to grow more powerful, and then victory will be yours!” Don Tzu
Trump clams a win picks up his marbles and goes home. Every other country that needs the oil will have to deal with iran. Is ships will get hammered for a long time.
The U.S. has a history of underestimating conflicts . . . just look at the last 70 years . . .
A lot of someones knew by the beginning of December 2025 an attack on Iran was in the works. That’s when financial markets started rolling over. Now that markets look like a waterfall at the point where things fall very quickly, I would expect very intense bombing these next couple of days / weeks.
Contrast the above market behavior leading up to and after last June’s attack on Iran. Prices were in a 2 week consolidation and then rose after actions began.
its possible there is wishful thinking on both sides.
But America wanted a short war where we could dictate terms. That didnt happen and I doubt we will be dictating the terms any time soon.
If they are patient, taco will probably do what he always does; chicken out.
He is no longer in charge of anything, assuming he ever was.
“This hubris is dangerous because they are not smart enough to understand that President Trump will never let them win. They don’t understand how far he’s willing to go,”
Translation into English: the United States and Israel will go nuclear.
well it will open big can of bad things
think about urkaine , taiwan, baltics
—From 1972 album Sail Away —
Randy Newman – Political Science
No one likes us
I don’t know why.
We may not be perfect
But heaven knows we try.
But all around even our old friends put us down.
Let’s drop the big one and see what happens.
We give them money
But are they grateful?
No they’re spiteful
And they’re hateful.
They don’t respect us so let’s surprise them;
We’ll drop the big one and pulverize them.
Now Asia’s crowded
And Europe’s too old.
Africa’s far too hot,
And Canada’s too cold.
And South America stole our name.
Let’s drop the big one; there’ll be no one left to blame us.
We’ll save Australia;
Don’t wanna hurt no kangaroo.
We’ll build an all-American amusement park there;
They’ve got surfing, too.
Well, boom goes London,
And boom Paris.
More room for you
And more room for me.
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town.
Oh, how peaceful it’ll be;
We’ll set everybody free;
You’ll have Japanese kimonos, baby,
There’ll be Italian shoes for me.
They all hate us anyhow,
So let’s drop the big one now.
Let’s drop the big one now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqBrw3rQvKo
The administration is in deep shite, killing the leaders just made the Iran people more dangerous no leaders to negotiate with…..
I doubt that either Israel or US would use nuclear on Iran. It would simply show they were more evil than North Korea.
However it is concerning because this sounds very similar to the statement saying they started the war to prevent the war.
=more evil than North Korea.
why n korea is evil??
it was western countries have been colonizing east for last 500 years
not koreans!
did not read much hist books , did you?
If they go nuclear they will get a nuclear response, it wouldn’t surprise me if that response lands on the US mainland.
In order to stabilize oil prices, the Trump administration has eliminated sanctions on Iranian oil, which in any place other than the Trump-o-sphere would be viewed at best as an act of grand mal douchebaggery and at worst as some sort of convoluted act of treason. But of course as Americans we recognize more winning when we see it, as Mr Trump wholeheartedly embraces 6 D turbo chess or whatever we’re calling his loutish magical thinking now.
Important reading here!
I hope you jest. This is one of those neocon think tanks that comes up with the narratives/policy presented to Trump as rationale for starting and continuing these disastrous “excursions”.
= Majid Rafizadeh, https://www.gatestone
did he already sign for military service? what is he witing for?
Afghanistan has a population of 44 million people. If after 20 years and trillions of dollars to keep the Taliban from running things only to have the Taliban running things now tells you all you need to know. Iran has double the population of Afghanistan.
Heck 51 years later, Vietnam is still a communist country.
See: https://mishtalk.com/economics/iran-wants-a-steep-price-to-end-the-war-believes-its-winning/#comment-425692
LOL! Note the author did not say “how” he would end the regime. It’s like saying “now is a great time to find the world’s biggest gold mine and get wildly rich!”. Why didn’t we all think of that?
Remember this is a proxy war. US and Israel against Iran backed by Russia and China. Fortress Iran can defiantly walk with some swagger with this lineup on their side with their proven capabilities. If we start drafting people for the military then it’s serious about actually defeating Iran, otherwise it’s hot air…
Iran is not a proxy of Russia and China. They have been sovereign and acted mostly independently, to an extent that they (foolishly IMO) declined previous offers from Russia to create an integrated air defense system. They are certainly getting a lot more assistance now though.
Losers don’t get to dictate terms. Also:
When you and others use “Iran” to describe the entity that the US/Israel are fighting, you are being purposefully? inaccurate.
This is not a war against the COUNTRY of Iran, its peoples or of Muslims in general, it’s against the ruling Islamic Regime State and its IRGC military arm. This distinction is important.
70-80% of Iranians oppose the Iranian Regime, have no control over its actions and would be ecstatic to see these the Regime and the IRGC permanently dispatched. Again, we are not fighting the people of Iran.
When referring to this war, correct usage should be “the Iranian Regime” or “ the IRGC”, not simply Iran, as in the county of.
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
look another mor1on is talking about things in iran not having even basic knowledge of local language or ever being in country
get lost cia/nsa bot. !
=Losers don’t get to dictate terms. Also:
hey winner HOW IS $40 ttrln of gov debt doing? or $3 trln yearly deficit?
jesus. you are an idiot!
How are you still stoopidly polluting the comment stream here? I thought Putin shut down the internet in Russia recently?
You keep telling us the war is won.
How many times you gonna tell us?
I’ve said no such thing. What I have said is:
Imagine if this was 800 years ago when Genghis Khan rode into Iran (then Persia/Mesopotamia) with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, who would marauder and kill all opposition (present day IRGC), including their families and supporters.
Once the remaining population accepted their conquerors and were effectively pacified under threat of death, our boy Genghis would appoint a governor to rule the land and collect taxes to be returned to the Mongol seat of government and his coffers
We are being too wimpy in modern warfare, which is why there is never a winner. War is hell! “Trample the weak and hurdle the dead”. We need to return to the Genghis Khan/Alexander the Great model of war.
I am confident that this is what our near future humanoid Terminator soldiers will do against humans.
Bullshit.
=We need to return to the Genghis Khan/Alexander the Great model of war.
i always amused by morons WHO NEVER KNOW ANYTHING!
MO11RON!.
during Alex Great conquest he embraced ancient Persia empire and people!!
he started using local clothes, and local people served him in army!
====
he even forced Macedonian nobility take local wifes
you would know if ever OPENED HST BOOK!
now, get lost uneducated mo111ron
=I thought Putin shut down the internet in Russia recently?
it is because you are mo!1ron
again to think you must have brains
YOU DON’T ! chill bot
Mate, I don’t know if they’re winning, but Iran has far from lost this war. It’s the Americans that have not achieved their goals, who are stuck and were too late to realise that it will cost more than they’re willing to pay to win this war.
“70% – 80% of Americans oppose the American regime, have no control over its actions and would be ecstatic to see this regime and its MAGA supporters permanently dispatched.”
You are wrong.
The goal seems to have been to incite rebellion which would topple Iran from the inside. That failed, maybe because the people don’t want to be stooges of Israel. So now some dumb fake goal will need to be found to save face.
The populace is disarmed and really cannot fight the evil religious despots subjugating and murdering them. No 2A in iran.
The Iranian people have the numbers. They need to ambush IRGC members where possible, slit their throats, garrot them, stab them in the back, take their guns and then begin to use those weapons to gain more weapons.
People fought with knives swords, spears, rope, tree branches, pieces of rock and much more through most of history, prior to the invention of the gun. A people CAN rebel without guns.
The fact that the Iranian people aren’t doing this, that all they seem able to do is to organize protests and set a few cars on fire, speaks volumes about their wiliness and true desire to be free of the Iranian Regime.
I can’t understand, with all the history of oppressive that we in the West have seen of the Iranian Regime, that there don’t appear to be active opposition organizations who have smuggled in weapons and are prepared to risk their lives to be free of the yolk of the Iranian Regime (like US was against the British in the American Revolution, which spanned nearly 20 years).
This shows how much the Iranian people have been subjugated, dociled and neutered by the IRGC under the decades of torture and oppression that they have imposed on the Iranian people.
Disarming the population works. The Soviets and red Chinese murdered about 100million between them. Gun control works.
=The Soviets and red Chinese murdered about 100million between them
sure but it is peanuts compared to Americans or Brits
Brits killed what 200* 400 mil around the world for 300 years?
====
and Americans killed at least 100 mil during slave triangle !
they dont teach this in your local school? do they
do you even know what slave triangle is ?
City people and people who are too civilized in general don’t fight back.
Machiavelli said, in relation to the idea that mountain men could always defeat the prosperous cities and farming areas, that this was so as long as the city men weren’t trained. He pointed out that the city men were in general better fed. If they were organized and led, they could defeat the tribesmen.
The fact that the Ukrainians are still willing to go on being the dupes for Zelensky and whoever is behind him, and fight the Russians, shows that people really will fight, however misguidedly, against those they hate because of what has been done to them (or their parents or grandparents) in the past.
People often talk loosely about civil war in America. Certainly the central government deserves to be overthrown. It is, from an American domestic point of view, an engine of corruption. But who is going to do it? Rare men try to start a civil war by committing some sort of atrocity: they are instantly condemned.
You must remember, when comparing the Persian passivity in the face of their government with the Ukrainian resistance against the Russians, that the Ukrainians had a lot of outside help. The Americans were training the Ukrainians to fight after signing a peace deal with the Russians. I think Angela Merkel herself admitted this.
The Persian population aren’t getting outside help to organize. The fact that some of them are willing to risk their lives to act as spies and help the Americans and Israelis to assassinate their mad mullahs shows that some of them don’t lack courage. But the population is obviously shot through with people who are prepared to spy for the government, who for whatever reason have chosen to stand with the Muslim religion against the Americans.
The Russians didn’t rise up against Communism until the Communist government consisted of a lot of men so old that they were practically brain-dead. But they did rise up then. These evil regimes really are destroyed eventually.
We must hope that the evil “liberal democratic” regime in America and Europe (really fascist in economic theory and sexually perverted in social theory) eventually weakens to the point that it is overthrown also. If it isn’t, the Chinese will inherit the Earth.
If I have contradicted myself anywhere here, I would be glad if someone points it out. Feel free to describe my mental level and character defects. I’m used to it.
… so they can be ruled by Trumpstien?
Dream on.
It doesn’t matter if people are armed or not. The ability to affect real change requires a large majority of the population to be highly organized, with an effective and intelligent leadership with a strong communication infrastructure. If enough people simply walked off the job and refused to work to provide wealth to the regime it would collapse quickly.
The facts are that the Iranian “regime” is not a bunch of mullahs and the revolutionary guard. It is a multi-party democratic state. The protests saw earlier weren’t for the overthrow of the mullahs, it was to replace the current democratically elected government with the opposition party.
The protests were to overthrow the Islamic extremists you are wrong. Please provide an historical example of a disarmed populace overthrowing a well armed murderous regime.
India, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, you could even make the case for Vietnam
The USSR.
That was the hope and if the Iranian people don’t size the opportunity, then that will be their problem. If the Regime reconstitutes itself and gets full power again, the Regime will murder hundreds of thousands. They just hung 3 supposed traitors the other day, including one 19 year old Olympic wrestler!
=Militarily, time may be on the US side
obv. IT IS OPPOSITE. !!!!!
time is always on side of country that doesn’t give much fu11ck about losses.
======
USSR LOST 4.5 mil soldiers in 1941 because Stalin stupidly moved armies too close to western border!
but in 1812 Russian Czar did exactly opposite and allowed Napoleon march into Moscow almost w.out battles!
Everything on foreign policy is easier if you think like Sen. Bernie Sanders, the squad, the progressives and the Democratic Socialists. The USA attacks nothing, not even in retaliation. The USA withdraws its troops from overseas bases, and even gives up some of our overseas territories like Guam, the Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Baker, Howland and Jarvis Islands and Palmyra Atoll. The USA reduces the authorized size of our standing armed forces, and diverts most of that money to meeting human needs at home. Yada. – We might not like what happens in the world “over there” following that, but it is what should happen, says Bernie et al.
Hello, straw man argument and false dichotomy. This is of course not about “the dems “. Its about trump starting a war without preparation, and failing because of it.
Sen. Bernie argues, correctly, that Pres. D. Trump did not ask for or receive permission to attack Iran. Therefore America should not be making any attacks on Iran. Pause to consider what American policy would be, realistically would be, if the Democrats had complete John Lewis control of government.
Actually I thought it was the Republican “America First” crowd who wanted all this. But I will buy in that Bernie and the Squad would like that too. Of course all of the “democratic socialists” in Congress are like 6 people. Not sure they have any influence, as Sanders multiple failed presidential runs amply demonstrates.
“This hubris is dangerous because they are not smart enough to understand that President Trump will never let them win. They don’t understand how far he’s willing to go,” said Jason Greenblatt, who served as the White House special envoy for the Middle East in the first Trump administration.
===
but of course Jason Greenblat is very smart. despite not even having knowledge of Farsi language
and anyway, WHY DOES HE WORRY ABOUT Iran, if USA / Israel are wining?
sounds like typical deflection.!
as reminder Germany was bombed from 1940!
starting 1944 it was Hiroshima pretty much every week!
====
and yet. war ended w/ armies at Berlin!
did i mention ppl of germany was about same as Iran. 80*90 mil?
but size of country was 3*4x times less
Ironically the war ended with Hitlers death. Might have happened earlier if a certain bomb had killed him.
Just means we need to step up the killing of the Iranian leaders which so far we are doing a great job of.
The Iranians aren’t led by a megalomaniac that thinks he’s god. Kill one leader, they’ll just replace him. They have 92 million people to draw from.
Yes a decade of higher oil/energy costs for everyone.
Meanwhile fertilizer, energy and food that transits the Hormuz is not going anywhere. I am surprised more people aren’t talking about the huge problem this is going to cause in a few months.
At a bare minimum, inflation is going to explode and costs for everything will go through the roof. The bond market is already showing the way.
I have apps that scan the options market and it’s total trash right now. I think liquidity is drying up and everyone is hoarding cash.
I think the next few weeks in the market are going to get very interesting.
Stuff happens in war. This war is for the greater good and the long-term safety of the world.
The continued whining about economic pain gets old quickly. It’s as if if nothing should ever be done to rope in rogue states because economies might suffer for a while or politicians might not get reelected. So sad …😢😢😢
Iran is not a rogue state. Not doing what the US wants you to do does not make you a rogue state.
“This war is for the greater good and the long-term safety of the world.”
Hahahaha!
Dumb fuck.
Rogue states are those that disregard UN condemnations and have leaders under ICJ indictment. Not those that upheld agreements until the agreements were torn up by others intent on attacking them. Rogue states are those that attack others.
“This war is for the greater good and the long-term safety of the world.”
Only if Israel is destroyed and the US is neutered. If that happens the angels in heaven will weep with joy.
General Wesley Clarke revealed that 7 ME countries would be taken down starting with Iraq and ending with Iran so Iran had 21 years to prepare for this attack .
With AIPAC in charge of US foreign policy since Truman days, not surprised.
Iran won and will keep winning as long as all they do is response attacks to USreal aggression.
In other news, funny Trump is back;
In response, President Trump took to Truth Social to dance on his grave – writing “Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Mish, I think your take on this is right in every detail.
Chances are very high that the Mockingbird media [WSJ included] exaggerates the US-Israeli degree of success and hides such things as the Iranian destruction of 2 US bases in the Gulf (removing significant radar capability). This barbaric war is a catastrophe for the whole world.
We won’t get confirmation from U.S. sources, but there’s every reason to believe that Iran has already either severely damaged or destroyed every U.S. base in the region. The radar strikes got a lot of attention because of the high dollar losses and what they portend for effectiveness of remaining air defenses, but much more has been done.
And American deaths are being underreported.
it 2026 not 16th century
all info is on display.
Our information is coming from the same people who lied to us for 20 years in Afghanistan. Who lied about WMD. Who lied about everything concerning Covid (right down to the toxic spike proteins)–yes, the Dept of Defense was in overall charge.
Exactly right. It is hard, for instance, to find ANY coverage from MSM about the F-35 I understand Iran shot down
Trump says he won. And THEN goes around begging for help. So you decide whether to believe him!
Turmp has 3 optimal policy choices choices here:
Iran is not winning.
Did Fox News tell you that or Donny himself?
the price that I paid to fill at the gas pump up this saturday says to me Iran aint doin to bad
They have no government and aren’t making money from oil exports. Not doing too well, either.
They have time and will fight for however long it takes. The US will give up sooner or later, as they do.
Lol!
Iran is still shipping 1-2 million barrels of oil per day to China and India. And at high prices. They are the only ones shipping oil through the strait.
And the US just removed sanctions on the 140 million barrels of Iranian oil already at sea so other countries can buy it as well. They will make a lot from that.
Iran is allowing some other ships through the strait after inspecting their cargoes, making sure they are heading somewhere other than the US and Israel, and charging a $2 million fee to transit the strait.
They are also demanding that the US and others pay reparations for the damage they have caused in Iran. Or they won’t reopen the strait.
And they are still sending lots of rockets and drones at targets in the region.
Not bad for a government you say no longer exists.
They have a full and complete government and are pumping and exporting as much oil as they can. Trump removed all sanction on Iranian oil. The first sign of defeat.
time to sleep junior.
tomorrow is 4th grade exam preparation in ms wiskerson’s math class
Iran fired on Diego Garcia (failed to hit of course). That’s at a range of 4000 KM despite Iran claiming they weren’t working on missiles that had a range of more than 2000 KM.
Obviously Iran lying about what they are working on and their capabilities. This is another reason to expect they are lying about their nuclear program. It also means the US and Israel are correct to continue to destroy anything even remotely military related no matter how long it takes.
So if something appears to be different than what we were told, then “obviously” it is a lie and therefore everything said is a lie. Using that same “logic”, we should conclude that Trump is lying about everything to do with the war (reasons, objectives, threats, rationale) and that we should cut the funding immediately and shut it down.
Then get Congress and the Senate to shut him down. Except they won’t so you’ll have to live with Trumps decisions.
On the other hand we don’t have to live with Irans long range missiles (Europe should now be on high alert since Iran demonstrated they can reach Europe) or nuclear program.
How about we just destroy Israel’s illegal cache of nuclear weapons, cease any further expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, give the Palestinians a slice of the pie and then the area can try to live in peace?
Well for starters because the USA is owned by Zionist billionaires. But go ahead and deny reality. Especially with this, the Epstein administration.
Sounds nice, except Israel probably has some nukes loaded on submarines already at sea.
i posted same
How about if we don’t?
And how would that force Jeebus to come back?
They already rang the Jesus bell. No response.
“How about we just destroy Israel’s illegal cache of nuclear weapons”
No, Israel and the US have both said Israel doesn’t have nukes. You aren’t suggesting someone is lying are you?
You should do some “Googling” about Dimona
Wrong. In October 2025, after US had attacked Iran in the 12-day war, Khamenei had lifted the missiles restriction he had previously imposed.
Iran specifically said it wasn’t pursuing such weapons. The news (even stuff like NBC) is reporting this.
Europe is now in the cross hairs of Irans missiles. How long before the next batch can reach the US. I personally don’t want to find out. Need to end this here and now.
I hope you are urging your children and grandchildren to sign up for the military and go fight in Iran to save the world
And then on to North Korea, and all the others?
NBC??!! What a joke. The entire spectrum of mainstream media has always been pro-war and will say anything to serve that end.
And don’t forget, that is if you even know, that Biden’s stupidity in pressing Russia with Ukraine led to Russia giving North Korea long range ICBM technology. N Korea now can hit even Florida with nuclear warheads. I don’t know more dangerous we could make the world than N Korea with their finger on the nuclear button.
They can launch but their rockets tend to fall into the sea short of goals. And just because they get a few off don’t mean they will not be shot down in transit.
And if you had the IQ of a rock, you would know that if Iran did anything stupid like this, one of the US subs with nukes loaded and always lurking around NK, would likely shoot off a few, such that the roly poly dictator and his heir apparent daughter wouldn’t get to see if his missiles even reached their target, because all the electric power in NK would cease to operate. And there would be some big craters where Pyongyang used to be and where we though the dictator was hiding out. NK isn’t all that big.
Well, we lied too. They are the ones who were attacked illegally last year, attacked illegally again, and continue to be under existential threat now. They have capable engineers, so why would we expect them to hold back and not to adapt capabilities based on last year’s attacks? In the runup to the war last year, B-2 bombers were flown into and stationed at Diego Garcia, although I think the actual attack occurred from bombers taking off from Whiteman AFB in Missouri.
word’s salad!
go away kamala!
=bviously Iran lying about what they are working on and their capabilities. This is another reason
Israel is lying about having nuclear ! . has been lying for decades
shall we nuke israel ?
Agreed! I really have to thank Iran for continuing to shoot itself in the legs with poor, irrational military decisions.
That’s the way the MSM works. Trump is completely off the charts in his hubris, and the WSJ’s article is about Iran’s hubris.
I have zero doubts the US has already lost this war. They failed at regime change and haven’t stopped Iran’s ability to hit our assets in the Middle East once bit. Furthermore, the US UNSANCTIONED Iran’s oil just yesterday in an attempt to keep oil prices down. The only question is what Iran will demand (and receive) to stop hostilities: full lifting of sanctions, kicking the US out of the Middle East and kicking Israel out of the occupied territories? Dismantling of the petrodollar? Nuttyahoo’s head on a plate?
How do you know we’ve failed at regime change? We won’t have that answer till everything is said and done. The same does for their ability to hit our assets. Everyday more and more places in Iran are destroyed. Rebuilding those will take a lot of money and time, possibly decades.
Incidentally, it’s going to be hard for anyone to win the war when exactly no 2 people will agree on what the ‘winning’ definition is. For example what would you say it would take for the US to win the war (define a strategic win and a tactical win please)?
How do I know we’ve failed at regime change? Because the US is now saying the war isn’t about regime change anymore. They wouldn’t say this unless they’ve failed.
Yes, everyday more and more places in Iran are being destroyed – elementary schools, civilian infrastructure, empty buildings. Iran is firing MORE missiles than before, including long range missiles we either didn’t know they had or maybe they just got from North Korea.
As to your second set of questions, there are no strategic or tactical wins for America here. Our bases have been destroyed and we’ve illustrated to our gulf allies that we’re more concerned with pleasing Israel than protecting them from attacks, and Trump has been reduced to pleading with NATO to come open the Straight of Hormuz for us (the US Navy won’t go anywhere near it you’ll notice).
How many years will have to pass before “everything is said and done.”?
“How do you know we’ve failed at regime change?”
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Vietnam, Cuba, etc.
Don’t forget Iran (in 1953), Chile, Egypt, the list goes on and on
Of course we were successful in Japan and Germany.
That’s because Israel didn’t exist back then. Follow the pattern.
how would you define losing for the USA?
I mean, the Iranian regime is still in place, thier missiles are still bombing us and our allies and the Strait is in their control.
I was told this was over in the 1st hour by the same people that are now telling me ‘only another $200 billion and its done’.
Trump set the terms, unconditional surrender and he picks the new leader. That is the win for America and it’s not going to happen without a lot of dead Americans first.
Boots on the ground from a guy who had how many Vietnam deferments? Along with Lindsay ‘Rear Admiral’ Graham, the (sort of) pirate of Penzance and Israel bootlicker.
“I mean, the Iranian regime is still in place, thier missiles are still bombing us and our allies and the Strait is in their control.”
And none of these things were true before Trump started the killing.
Don’t forget the main justification offered for the war—do we think Iran is less likely than before the war or more likely to pursue nuclear weapons?
Everyday more and more places in Iran are destroyed. Rebuilding those will take a lot of money and time, possibly decades.
===
timmy boy.
i understand you never opened hist book being in Texas, but
anyway find local library and politely ask book about ww2 and bombing of Germany
i doubt you can read. but it is never too late to start
The war was never about regime change. The last thing Israel wants would be a stronger Iran.
Rhetoric aside, the real goal ever always only was to turn Iran into a failed state. See Iraq, Libya and Syria for examples.
the new missile age
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09636412.2025.2604503#abstract
the world awaits to see what will emerge from the steaming pile
god’s will be done
Praise Allah!
We should surrender to the new one legged, man loving, maybe dead Ayatollah! Errr, wait a second. Yeah, no. Baghdad Bob, Persian version.
you forgot to mention he is gay. despite having wife and kids
i guess they laid off smart ones, and only morons are in cia now
If everyone says they are winning then I have to look at the people speaking.
Trump has established that he’s quite incapable of recognizing the truth.
I don’t know about Iran or their talking heads.
Right now, Iran is more trustworthy than Trump which is still close to zero.
I think Trump is doing much worse than he had hoped. He doesn’t seem to understand that not everybody will just roll over. I think Tehran is doing much better than the West is willing to admit and there’s nothing valid to refute that.
I think Iran wants a nuclear bomb and a program that can protect them from foreign I influence.
I don’t think the US knows what it wants.
From the study of the US govt’s behavior since the time of LBJ, one might conclude that the US govt. wants to be Israel’s bitch.
Nor yourself.
It sure helps for you to use ad hominem and attack me.
I might return the favor, for me. you ain’t worth it
So would I. As an Indian chief of army staff once said, pick a fight when you have a nuclear bomb in your front years and a ICBM in your back yard.
Just go ask the North Korean’s.
Rewrite that Iran’s rulers want a nuclear bomb and everything in their program, ultimately including death to the little Satan (Israel) and death (or something equivalent) to the great Satan (USA). Unknown what the oppressed Iranian people want.
A few nuke bombs will not protect small countries like they want to think it would.
If we had any “intelligence” that a country like Iran, Pakistan or NK was planning to use a nuke, don’t you think that we would conduct a preemptive attack of significant magnitude to obliterate much of their country using our own nukes?
I hear you saying that if Iran had nukes, we would still have attacked.
I’m calling BS.
Call all you want. You will still be wrong. Want to find out?
If by Iran winning … means the US and its former allies losing …Yes, this is a perfect storm …. Consider the DJIA 3 Sept 1929 peak valuation and the 25 Feb 2026 ACWI peak valuation. In 1929 10% margin buying of stock caused extreme valuation and tremendous fragility. In 2026 500 billion dollar’s of private bank and financial industry investment funds caused extreme valuations and like fragility. The 2026 funds were already insolvent in Jan 2026. Add to this meltdown scenario, a strategy-less, self-inflicted global energy/fertilizer shock that limits the fed in lowering interest rates to confront the cascading debt default and equity crash. If by Iran winning …means the US and west losing …