Without an off-ramp |
ISRAEL and the US expectations that decapitation of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, through massive airstrikes, would terminate the regime seem driven by “wishful thinking” rather than hard intelligence. Though President Trump confidently announced that he could finish war quickly, Iran is signalling contrarily. The critical examination of military actions since the launch of the operations Epic Fury and Lion’s Roar against Iran on February 28, 2026, reveals that the off-ramp is not on the horizon. So the asymmetric war is drifting toward escalation and attrition.
The war mongering of President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu discloses three interlinked objectives, i.e., the regime change in Iran, the obliteration of Iran’s nuclear program and the destruction of Iran’s missiles and missile industry. The question arises, will they accomplish their objectives? Iran is going to collapse or survive; anticipating the correct outcome at this stage is difficult. The situation on the ground is alarming for the US and Israel and their partners in the region because the war is not unfolding as either leader planned. The military operations in the Middle East have evolved into a protracted war without an off-ramp. History is full of evidence that protracted war is to the disadvantage of the invaders.
The escalatory ladder of the war alarms about serious economic repercussions for the Middle East, in........