John Mearsheimer, the University of Chicago professor, said in an interview on Tuesday that he was only partially surprised by Robert Kagan’sarticlein The Atlantic that essentially calls the Iran War a total defeat for the U.S. that has changed the world forever.
“Yes, I was surprised in the fact that he is one of the leading neoconservative thinkers on the planet, and who would've ever thought he would issue such a stark statement that we have lost the war in Iran, and there is simply no hope. And that this is probably the greatest defeat United States has ever suffered in its history. I just didn't expect something like that from Bob Kagan,” he toldJudge Andrew Napolitano’s Judging Freedom.“But it’s not surprising in the sense that anybody with a triple-digit IQ viewing what's going on in the world today, I think can't help but understand that we are in deep trouble; thatwe have no winning formula Iran.”
Pete Hegseth, the secretary of War, told a congressional hearing on Tuesday that the U.S. is prepared to escalate the Iran War as both sides are deadlocked and the Strait of Hormuz is still essentiallyclosed for business.
“We have a plan to escalate if necessary,” he said. “We have a plan to retrograde if necessary. We have a plan to shift assets.”
Brig. Gen. Reza Talaei-Nik, Iran’s Defense Ministry spokesman, said Tuesday that the U.S. must face the realities on the ground or Washington will suffer repeated defeats, according to Press TV.
“Without securing these reasonable and definitive rights, the enemy will not be able to extricate itself from the quagmire in which it is trapped,” he said. He continued: “If the enemy does not yield to Iran’s rightful demands in diplomacy, it should expect a repeat of its past defeats on the military field.”
The war started on 28 February, and there has been a fragile ceasefire that went into effect on 8 April 2026. Trump recently rejected a proposal from Iran to end the war and accused Tehran of “playing games.”
He posted: “I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives’. I don’t like it – TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”
The U.S. wants Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz before talks begin and has insisted that Tehran agrees to end its nuclear program and hand over roughly 900 pounds of near-weapons-grade uranium.
Tehran wants a deal before opening the strait and has said that it will not discuss the nuclear issue to end the war.
Source: Trends in the News
