Can Trump really end the Iran war "very soon"?
There are unclear signals as to how long this should continue: on Monday US President Donald Trump said it would end "very soon", but shortly afterwards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying that they were "not done yet". The air strikes on Iran intensified on Tuesday, and Tehran also continued its attacks on Israel and the Gulf states. Europe's press casts about for realistic exit scenarios.
Colder and colder feet
The US president is backing down in view of rising oil and falling share prices, the Aargauer Zeitung comments:
“Even Trump is no match for the markets. When share prices and US government bonds fell after his tariff crackdown in April 2025, the president immediately backtracked. And now, in the Iran war, this phenomenon is repeating itself. 'Taco' - Trump Always Chickens Out in the end. After oil prices rose by around 50 percent and share prices plummeted on Monday, Trump got cold feet. He knows that his voters will not forgive him for higher prices at the petrol pump and lower valuations of their retirement assets. ... Typical Trump.”
Pressure from the Gulf states
The states in the region will try to persuade Trump to end the war, columnist Pierre Haski writes on France Inter:
“In recent years the Gulf states have attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and are closely linked to US economic interests, in particular those of the Trump family. The Gulf states could use their financial leverage to make it clear to the US president that the costs will rise every day if he does not end the war. ... Today the Gulf monarchies, including the Emirates, are calling for an end to the war. ... They need to restore their badly tarnished image. ... Trump is listening, but will he understand what they're saying?”
Already a victory for the US president
Blogger Karl Volokh comments in a Facebook post republished by Espreso:
“Since this war does not involve any ground operations, it can be ended relatively easily - simply by stopping the attacks. ... Both this fact and the results achieved by the coalition forces in Iran already allow Trump to portray this operation as a resounding victory: Iran's nuclear programme has suffered a significant setback, the missile programme has been hit hard, the financial resources for supporting regional proxies have been undermined, the air force, air defence and navy have been almost completely destroyed, other branches of the military have been weakened, and the repressive state institutions have sustained considerable damage.”
No goals achieved yet
Ending the war at this point could be seen as a failure for Trump, journalist Dmitry Kolezev explains in a Telegram post reposted by Echo:
“If it ends now, the Iranians will undoubtedly say that the US has suffered a defeat: none of the operational objectives have been achieved. Khamenei was killed, the fleet was sunk and missile factories were bombed. But the latter can be rebuilt, and the regime is still standing, Khamenei has been politically reincarnated in his son, there have been no significant protests, the Kurds have not marched on Tehran, 460 kilograms of uranium remain under the control of the Revolutionary Guards, the nuclear programme has not been halted, and no one has waved a white flag to request negotiations.”
Risk of an epic failure
Donald Trump will have a tough time extricating himself from this war, says the Financial Times:
“Trump has an almost unique capacity for claiming victory, even when he has clearly lost. ...But simply declaring victory in Iran and walking away may not be straightforward. There are around 40,000 American troops in the region, as well as military bases, economic assets and vulnerable allies. Trump was able to start this war at a time of his own choosing. He may not be able to end it on the same terms. Operation Epic Fury risks turning into an epic failure.”
Fight until the regime falls
The US and Israel must not let up, says The Times:
“People may believe they were lied to over the threat from Iraq. But it is idiotic and foolish to assume therefore that they are being lied to over the threat from Iran, which has killed thousands of Americans, Brits and others in the war it has waged against the West since the regime took power in 1979. ...This war could be seen as utterly reckless - unless the alternative is fully understood. Then it becomes utterly imperative, and essential that it is pursued until the Iranian Islamic regime is no more.”