Trump's Iran War Enters 6th Month as Escalation Revives 'Forever War' Fears

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 3

Six months after Donald Trump launched what he called a "little excursion," the Iran war is still widening, with alternating talk of negotiations and fresh US strikes failing to produce an exit.
The commentary argues the conflict is being driven by exaggerated threat claims about Iran, echoing the false premises used to justify the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
Those earlier wars carried vast costs: more than 2,400 US troops and 450 British troops died in Afghanistan, while Brown University's Costs of War project estimates 940,000 direct deaths across post-9/11 war zones.
Iranian hardliners are portrayed as exploiting Trump's dilemma through broader militia attacks and drone and missile strikes that unsettle the global economy, while US diplomacy and UN mediation remain weak.
The piece says the conflict is already defining Trump's presidency, warning it risks becoming another open-ended US war with lasting human, financial and geopolitical damage.