Earlier this month, President Donald Trump promised a historic economic reckoning targeting Iran. Steeped in the usual boisterous platitudes that have come to define his administration’s approach to policy without strategy, Washington’s options to further constrain the Islamic Republic’s already dire economic prospects remained unclear, raising questions regarding how this move would differ from the long-running “maximum pressure” approach that has failed to seriously alter the country’s behavior or leadership. The answer on the self-proclaimed “Economic D-Day” of August 24 proved that this new “strategy” looks like a massive flop.
The Trump administration finds itself without a clear path out of its war of choice with Iran. Thousands of missiles and dead Iranians, numerous destroyed U.S. military bases and killed troops, and a battered economy in the Islamic Republic have not brought Tehran to heel. Once again, Iranian “maximum resistance” has proven far more resilient than the White House would like to admit, continuing the saga of underestimating Iranian resolve while exaggerating and overextending American capacity and willingness to do far too much abroad in a region of diminishing strategic importance.
Faced with limited military options after unleashing the American armed forces on the Islamic Republic, the White House is struggling to articulate a strategy that it never had in the first place. More bombs targeting Iranian leaders, military and civilian infrastructure, and elementary schools in Minab will not achieve the amorphous goals of the war. Trump’s team understands this reality but refuses to admit defeat.
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