President Trump, You Can’t Walk Away Without Paying Cost of Bizarre US-Israel War on Iran

President Donald Trump seems to be living in a world of his own. His frequently changing statements on the US-Israel war on Iran suggest an administration struggling to find a credible exit strategy from a conflict that has failed to deliver its declared objectives.

I have always maintained that Benjamin Netanyahu dragged Donald Trump into this war. Perhaps both leaders believed that Iran could be forced into accepting 'unconditional surrender' within a few days. However, their calculations proved fundamentally wrong. Instead of achieving their objectives, the United States and Israel have suffered considerable dents to their military supremacy and international standing, while Iran has demonstrated an ability to withstand sustained military pressure.

Trump's recent instruction to Vice President JD Vance to move away from negotiations with Iran and concentrate on domestic issues is particularly revealing. Having earlier described the war as effectively over, Trump now says Washington does not need a deal with Tehran. Such contradictory statements raise serious questions about whether he has finally accepted that military victory is no longer a realistic option.

According to recent estimates, the financial cost of the conflict to the United States has already exceeded US$40 billion. The Congressional Budget Office and other assessments indicate that the final bill could be considerably higher. This does not include the wider economic disruption, damage to regional infrastructure and the burden imposed on America's Gulf partners.

I sincerely hope that Washington will now recognize the futility of prolonging this bizarre war. However, ending military operations cannot mean escaping responsibility.

My message to President Trump is straightforward; You have to close this account. Accept that your war objectives have not been achieved, negotiate a durable settlement and compensate Iran as well as GCC member countries for the destruction and economic losses inflicted during this conflict.

You have already inflicted enough torture on the world in general and American citizens in particular. The estimated US$40–50 billion spent on this war could have been used to improve the lives of millions of Americans, rather than financing a military adventure whose benefits remain difficult to identify.

President Trump, walking away is not the same as settling the account. The world deserves peace, but the victims also deserve compensation.