Trump campaigned for a second term as a president who would end foreign wars rather than start new ones.
However, his administration is now deeply involved in a conflict with Iran that analysts say risks becoming a new “forever war.”
The US launched “Operation Epic Fury” alongside Israel on February 28, targeting Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities.
The campaign has relied heavily on US air and naval power rather than a large-scale deployment of American ground troops.
Despite inflicting significant economic and military damage on Iran, the campaign has not achieved all of the objectives critics say Trump set out to accomplish, including dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme or triggering a change in the Iranian government.
The conflict has also created economic pressure beyond the battlefield. Iran’s disruption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz has contributed to higher US gasoline prices and pushed global oil prices higher.
The economic impact has added to political pressure on Trump and strained relations with some US allies.
Analysts say the conflict reflects some of the problems that complicated the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, including difficulties in defeating an entrenched opponent and establishing a clear path to ending military operations.
Sina Toossi of the Center for International Policy said Trump had broken a post-Iraq and Afghanistan reluctance in Washington to launch another major, potentially open-ended war in the Middle East.
The comparison comes as the United States approaches the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and led to the US invasion of Afghanistan, followed by the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The Iraq war was launched partly on intelligence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, but those weapons were never found.
The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq became lengthy and costly, while contributing to instability across the Middle East.
Trump’s political rise was partly fueled by public frustration with the consequences of those wars.
During his 2024 campaign, he promised to avoid military adventurism and focus more heavily on Americans’ economic concerns.
Critics now argue that his Iran strategy risks repeating some of the mistakes of the post-9/11 era, including underestimating an adversary’s resilience and failing to establish a clear exit strategy.
The White House has defended the campaign. Spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump had the courage to confront Iran over its nuclear programme and argued that his administration had achieved its objectives, while sanctions and a US maritime blockade were putting further pressure on Iran’s economy.
For now, however, the conflict remains unresolved. With rising energy costs, political pressure at home and concerns over its wider regional consequences, the war is increasingly becoming a test of whether Washington can avoid repeating the experience of the post-9/11 “forever wars.”
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