Trump’s Iran Gamble: Victory at 100 Percent, or a War Without End?

US President Donald Trump, while addressing a veterans’ event on November 11, said that the United States had not started the war with Iran; rather, Iran had been waging war against the United States since 1979. According to him, the time had now come to deliver a decisive outcome in this conflict, and victory should be 100 percent, not 93 percent. Trump claimed that it could take 25 years to restore the damage inflicted on Iran by American attacks. However, he also said that the United States did not want further destruction and that the decision to end the war rested in Washington’s court.
The war between the two countries and the destruction of military installations at various locations are not merely a regional conflict; its fallout has spread to ordinary citizens, global trade and the economy. The Strait of Hormuz is critically important in this regard. As a result of the war, traffic through this vital maritime route has been affected, disruptions have occurred in oil supplies, and energy prices and transportation costs have also increased. These effects are felt most acutely by countries, particularly Pakistan, that rely on imports to meet their energy requirements. For developing countries like Pakistan, expensive oil, an increase in the import bill, inflation and pressure on foreign exchange reserves can create further difficulties.
The effects of the Iran war are also becoming prominent in American politics, and in the November 3, 2026 midterm elections, the world witnessed a stunning turn in which the Democratic Party clinched majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Following this victory, President Trump’s Republican Party will have to cede control of both chambers of Congress. The newly elected members will assume their responsibilities on January 3, 2027. Thus, for the remainder of his presidential term, President Trump will face a Congress in which his opposing party will have a much firmer grip than before. Inflation resulting from the Iran war, everyday expenses and public unease regarding the Iran war have emerged as important factors in the election results.
Against this political backdrop, the resolution for the impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also taken center stage. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie had introduced this resolution on eight charges involving military operations in connection with the Iran war, civilian casualties and other alleged violations. On November 10 this month, the House of Representatives referred the resolution to the relevant committee by 211 votes to 204, as a result of which the impeachment proceedings have been put on hold for now. However, there are also considerable prospects that this difference between 204 and 211 may be bridged in the future. The biggest political challenge for President Trump is that after taking control of legislative power in January, Democrats can very easily launch probes into his administration’s policies, the Iran war and other matters.
Trump has previously faced impeachment twice in the House of Representatives; however, the Senate acquitted him on both occasions. The possibility of a third impeachment is certainly part of the political debate, but Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries stressed after the elections that none of his party’s members had yet spoken to him about impeaching the president. Therefore, it would not be correct to describe it as a done deal. Furthermore, a simple majority in the House of Representatives is sufficient for impeachment, but ousting the president requires the votes of two-thirds of the members present in the Senate.
On the other hand, Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has issued a stark warning that if the United States attacks Iran again, American military bases from the Middle East to Europe that take part in the attacks could be targeted. He also said that the Strait of Hormuz would stay shut unless Iran’s seven demands were accepted.
This situation fuels fears that if the war intensifies again, its effects will not remain limited to the United States and Iran alone. Rather, there are fears that Gulf countries, Europe, Asia and global markets will also have to pay the price. Restrictions on maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb could take a further toll on energy supplies, maritime trade, investment and food prices, making life even harder for ordinary citizens, whose lives are already challenging.
The need of the hour is for both sides to give priority to negotiations and reconciliation instead of flexing military muscle and making claims about crushing each other. Political claims of victory in war are one thing, but there is no easy way to compensate for its human, economic and regional losses. A diplomatic solution is the only path through which the United States and Iran can protect their interests while saving the region and the global economy from a full-blown catastrophe.