WANA (May 12) – Iran has effectively blocked every path through which the United States could exit the war claiming victory. At this point, fulfilling the Islamic Republic’s maximum demands is seen as the only way for Trump to escape the Persian Gulf quagmire:

 

accepting Iran’s authority over the Strait of Hormuz, ending the war on all fronts, dismantling U.S. military bases across the region, paying reparations, and recognizing Iran’s nuclear rights. Since the White House views these conditions as an outright defeat, it continues to resist accepting them.

 

The key point is that Iran has deliberately structured its demands in a way that leaves little room for bargaining. Tehran appears to be in no rush. It has placed its maximalist and victory-oriented demands on the table while already treating the United States as the losing side.

 

According to this narrative, that is the current reality: America came intending to kill, overthrow, divide, seize uranium stockpiles, and dominate Iran’s oil resources. Instead, it suffered humiliation, its bases were destroyed, and it lost access to the Strait of Hormuz. Yet Washington still wants to portray itself as the victor and refuses to acknowledge defeat.

A woman walks near a billboard featuring an image of the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, May 11, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)

If the United States refuses to accept this reality, Iran, according to this view, has no intention of retreating from its demands either.

 

That leaves only one possible outcome: a return to war. But the issue is that the current ceasefire itself is portrayed as the result of America’s defeat on the battlefield, meaning any renewed conflict would effectively resume the same failed war.

 

To Trump’s misfortune, time is also said to be working against American interests. Analysts argue that if the current situation continues for another two weeks, many countries could face severe crises, while the United States itself would experience dramatic inflation and price shocks.

 

Under such circumstances, what would happen if Washington reentered the war and the conflict continued for at least another 40 days?

A billboard with a graphic design about the Strait of Hormuz on a building in Tehran, Iran, May 6, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)

Iran had previously warned that if war were imposed on it, Tehran would not allow the other side to end it whenever they wished.

 

Supporters of this argument point to the “Ramadan War,” claiming that after two weeks, the Americans were already sending ceasefire messages, while Iran allegedly continued the conflict for another 25 days. The implication is that under current conditions, prolonged conflict would damage the opposing camp even more severely.

 

At the same time, Benjamin Netanyahu is described as working aggressively to keep Trump locked into the war. From this perspective, the Israeli prime minister does not care how many American soldiers are killed, how many Iranians die, or whether Arab countries suffer.

 

His only concern is his own political interests. Trump, meanwhile, looks at the situation and sees that the aircraft carriers are his, the fighter jets are his, the refueling aircraft are his, the AWACS systems and Black Hawks and MQ-9 drones are all his—so why should he not believe he can defeat Iran? Why not try once again? Yes, those temptations exist. But so do the traps surrounding him.

 

On one side, Trump appears readying himself for war, while on the other he sees that he possesses no decisive winning card. He has everything, this argument says, except divine support.

A man holds an Iranian flag and a picture of Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on a street in Tehran, Iran, May 6, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)

Trump will likely soon realize that the Iranians are playing him strategically; perhaps he already understands it. What seems clear in this narrative is that nobody in Iran intends to reach an agreement with Trump unless he fully accepts defeat.

 

Talk of negotiations is viewed merely as a tactic to buy time. Trump, according to this perspective, must lose. It is presented not as a possibility, but as an inevitability. Trump must pay a price. America must pay a price. Trump must weaken America, strip it of credibility, and bring down American hegemony. Supporters of this line of thinking point to statements previously attributed to Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

 

In any case, the argument concludes that what must be done—and what is already being done—is steadfast resistance, whether through war or without it. Both paths have their hardships and their advantages.

 

Short-term suffering, it says, must be endured in pursuit of long-term gains. Iran today is portrayed as standing precisely at that point.

 

According to this analysis, offering concessions or flexibility toward Trump is not Iran’s objective, nor is it the intention of its negotiating team. The country is described as being at a peak level of internal coordination.

 

The Attrition of American Power in Hormuz: Washington Caught in a Trap of Time

WANA (May 09) – Amid tensions that seem to evolve into a new form every day, one reality stands out more than anything else: the United States still has not decided what kind of conflict it is truly trapped in.   If bombing alone could have changed the equation, Washington would never have abandoned it […]

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