The Pentagon has reportedly extended Middle East deployments of American troops, fighter squadrons, and warships into next year as the deadly, expensive, and deeply unpopular Iran war drags on with no end in sight.
The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth—who, like President Donald Trump, insisted the Iran assault would be over swiftly—has decided that the US military will maintain a “presence of 50,000 troops in the region in part to give the president flexibility on next steps.” The Pentagon “could also keep elements of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in the Middle East well into 2027,” the Journal added, citing a letter that military leaders sent to families.
The Journal also reported that Trump, who has falsely called Iran a “dead” country, is “having discussions with senior aides about whether to declare the Iran war over,” even as the bombings continue, American troops remain in the region, and the administration ratchets up economic sanctions.
“ Trump administration seems to excel at bombing schools and weddings,” Brian Finucane, senior adviser to the US Program at the International Crisis Group, wrote on Wednesday. “Winning the illegal and unnecessary war with Iran—not so much.”
Hegseth has reportedly backed a plan that would involve “periodic” bombings of Iran in an attempt to keep ship traffic flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategy that analysts say would lead to a “permanent state of war.”
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, argued earlier this week that Trump appeared to be leaning toward “maintaining a low-level conflict until the midterms—neither securing a diplomatic deal nor allowing the situation to deteriorate into full-scale war.”
“Iranian officials say, both publicly and privately, that they expect the U.S. and Israel to resume the war after the midterms regardless of the impact of the D-Day sanctions,” Parsi wrote. “Regional diplomats have largely reached the same conclusion. If sanctions weaken Iran over time while the global economy recovers and adjusts to the new reality in the Strait, a prolonged pause will work against Tehran. Iran may therefore decide to escalate dramatically, taking full advantage of Trump’s perceived vulnerability in the run-up to the elections.”
Thousands of Iranians—including hundreds of children—and at least 18 US servicemembers have been killed during the war so far, and the conflict has cost the average American household $1,200 in extra costs as gas prices remain at record levels. Trump has said he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation” when he makes decisions pertaining to the Iran war.
The war is fueling the Trump administration’s push for a record $1.5 trillion in military spending for the coming fiscal year—a budget demand that has intensified concerns of a “forever war” against Iran.
“ Washington is betting that sustained military and economic pressure will eventually force Tehran to retreat,” the National Iranian American Council wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. “Iran appears to be betting that it can survive long enough to force Washington to do the same. For ordinary Iranians, American servicemembers, and civilians across the region, the danger is that testing those two assumptions will require a much longer and more destructive war.”