Trump’s Manufactured Iran War Risks Dragging US Into Endless Middle East Quagmire

The Trump administration’s reckless push toward war with Iran is already exacting a heavy toll — and the worst is yet to come. More than two months into a US-Israeli military confrontation with Tehran, the conflict shows no signs of resolution. Both sides are dug in, convinced time favors their cause, leaving the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and global oil and gas prices soaring.

This manufactured crisis is not just about the Middle East. According to experts like Paul J. Saunders and Nikolas K. Gvosdev, the conflict’s ripple effects threaten to destabilize broader international security. The war’s strain on energy markets is complicating the US military’s posture in Ukraine, where Russia’s invasion drags on, and is reshaping China’s strategic calculations regarding Taiwan. All of this unfolds as Trump prepares for a summit in Beijing, underscoring how his foreign policy gambits are entangling the US in multiple global flashpoints simultaneously.

Saunders, president of the Center for the National Interest, and Gvosdev, a national security scholar at the Naval War College, warn that neither Washington nor Tehran appears willing to back down or negotiate, raising the specter of a prolonged stalemate — a “no war, no peace” scenario. This limbo threatens to drain American resources and attention, while escalating risks of further military escalation.

The Trump administration’s strategy seems less about achieving peace or security and more about distracting from domestic scandals and consolidating power through foreign conflict. But as this war drags on, it exposes the high cost of authoritarian overreach and reckless brinkmanship.

The question now is how long the US can endure this strategic quagmire and what it will take to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and bring the conflict to an end. Meanwhile, the world watches as Trump’s manufactured war continues to destabilize global peace and American credibility alike.