Directionless and uninformed, Donald Trump remains entangled in Iran with no exit from the ruinous conflict he launched. The US military once more hammers the nation along with its civilian facilities. This illegal assault bolsters a rigid regime indifferent to public hardship. How many times have Trump and Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon chief known for harsh tactics, declared false success? The president asserted this week that he is prevailing decisively. Few accept the claim. While tallying the immense human and financial toll of his Middle East misadventure, observers worldwide mock American weakness.

Securing the Strait of Hormuz, shut because of Trump aggression, now stands as the narrow and distant White House goal. Broader American and Israeli targets such as ending Iran nuclear efforts, weakening its allied groups, and forcing regime change grow harder to reach. It is Trump weak command that hampers US troops rather than Iranian forces. If Iran truly threatens existence as he states, full invasion would follow logically. When George W Bush viewed Iraq as a severe risk, he sent 170,000 soldiers. That proved disastrous. Yet Bush showed resolve.

Trump, citing health issues, avoids any comparable move in Iran, a choice the world may appreciate. Still he refuses to own his error in beginning an unwinnable clash. Instead he leaves civilians and American personnel exposed to prolonged stalemate, endangers Gulf partners, harms worldwide trade, threatens hunger in poorer nations, pleases autocrats in Moscow and Beijing, undermines global rules, and weakens Republican election chances rather than pursuing talks to end the error.

Trump ego, not Iran, ranks as the top worldwide adversary. He drives the uncontrolled rise in fighting. He functions as a singular instrument of mass harm.

A repeated pattern appears. Trump entered combat without input from Congress, partners, or citizens. He lacked any defined approach or future vision. He accepted questionable promises of quick success from Israel leader. His lack of knowledge about military and regional dangers stayed untouched by ignored expert views. Surprisingly, Trump expected Iran to yield before the strait closed and reacted with shock to strikes on US sites in the Gulf. Others foresaw it. He now drifts without direction.

The same overconfidence marked last year ambitious 20-point Gaza peace outline. Key parts including rebuilding, a global peacekeeping unit, and disarmament have stalled while Trump attention has faded. Hamas keeps arms, Israeli troops stay in place, aid remains blocked, and over 1,000 Palestinians died after the October truce. Absent any political path, Gaza lingers in unresolved tension.

Parallel flaws mark Trump unhelpful moves in the Ukraine Russia conflict. He ignored underlying issues and Putin questionable aims. He backed the side he saw as stronger and pressed Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy toward surrender. When that failed he turned away from Kyiv though he still seeks to placate Putin for reasons only he knows. This cycle of poor judgment, haste, and poor choices now repeats in Iran.

Stuck without a way forward, Trump struggles. Central to this week escalation lies the June memorandum that aimed to pause fighting for 60 days during talks. Trump praised it as a win, yet like many of his agreements it contains fatal weaknesses. One section appeared to accept Iranian influence over the strait. Seeking an escape, Trump accepted it. As results emerge he now resists. No surprise Tehran distrusts him. Few others do.

The harm from Trump Iran failure seems boundless. It presents a rare public spectacle. Like a drinker hoping for a different result this time, Trump restarts daily strikes despite earlier failures. Increased bombing only hardens the regime, widens the fight, and pushes nuclear resolution further away, the very issue the US and Israel call central.

Clearly Trump, who proposed then dropped strait fees within a day, directs strikes on civilian sites that may breach war laws, and faces a possible Red Sea blockade by Yemen Houthis backed by Iran, lacks any plan to leave this worsening trap. European partners watch with concern, Washington foes celebrate, markets react with alarm, and oil costs climb. American standing shrinks with each launch. Leading globally grows difficult without respect.

Who can halt Trump? Congress ordered him to stop or gain approval. He disregards it. Surveys indicate most Americans oppose the costly, inflation driving effort, yet he pays no heed. Shocked allies, recovering from criticism at the Ankara Nato meeting, hesitate to intervene lest ties break. Pope Leo offers what help he can. Appeals to higher powers may remain the sole option.

Seated in the Kremlin amid his own failed military hopes, Putin gladly observes America diverting interceptors, funds, and focus into another endless Middle East war distant from Ukraine. Greater western divisions suit him, especially if Russia prepares hybrid actions in Poland or the Baltics as reports suggest. China stance shows clearly in its recent Pacific missile launch. Like Japan and Taiwan, Xi Jinping watches Trump chaos closely. China already gains economically and in influence. Eventually Xi may act with force.

The Trump puzzle falls to Americans to settle. They chose him. They burdened the world with this hazardous figure. They may face the greatest cost from his actions. Like Jefferson and the founders in 1776, people everywhere see these facts as clear: far from restoring American greatness, Trump reduces it to something smaller, harsher, less content, more split, cut off, and disliked. What is required now is a 2026 break from Trump rule.

Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator