- Six months ago, the United States and Israel struck targets across Tehran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian leaders.
- The US's stated war aims appear not to have been achieved, with President Donald Trump's initial claim that Iran's nuclear capacity had been destroyed now appearing false.
- Petrol prices have risen by 50 percent since the war on Iran began on February 28.
- Trump's approval rating is at a record low, with criticism of his foreign policy competing with disapproval of his domestic record, and fewer than one in three Americans supportive of the conflict.
- Netanyahu is viewed as having failed in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, and is trailing in the polls.
- The economic cost of the war is becoming a key issue, and there is a perception that Israel dragged the US into the war.
- Iran's nuclear capacity remains, with highly enriched uranium still in the country, and its proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah still have capacity.
- Trump imposed new sanctions on Tehran, dubbed ‘Economic D-Day’, to pressure Iran into a more favourable deal.
Six months into the Iran-US war, the conflict has not achieved its stated goals, with Iran's nuclear capacity remaining intact.
President Donald Trump’s approval rating is at a record low, with many Americans disapproving of the war, which was initiated under pressure from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.45
Petrol prices have surged by 50% since the war began on February 28, exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis that Trump has criticized in his campaign against President Joe Biden.
Shibley Telhami, a government and politics professor at the University of Maryland, noted, “The economic cost of the war is becoming a key issue for many.”89
Despite the US's military actions, Trump’s claims that Iran’s nuclear capacity was destroyed have proven false, as the country retains highly enriched uranium and the ability to weaponize it.
Ahron Bregman, an Israeli security analyst, stated, “Netanyahu is trailing in the polls and for good reason... Instead of concentrating on stopping Iran from getting the bomb, he focused on regime change. It all failed, and Iran is now closer than ever to having the bomb.”
Adding to the pressure on Trump, a recent Ipsos poll revealed that fewer than one in three Americans support the conflict, highlighting a growing discontent with the war's economic and political ramifications.
“The US's stated war aims appear unachieved, with highly enriched uranium still in Iran and proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah retaining capacity. Trump's new sanctions, dubbed 'Economic D-Day', aim to pressure Tehran, but fewer than one in three Americans support the conflict, per an Ipsos poll.”
