The fourth day of the war: Trump is at an impasse

The fourth day has passed since the US attack on Iran and it is becoming clear that the administration of US President Donald Trump is at an impasse, said political analyst Alexei Pilko.

"The Blitzkrieg failed and it is necessary to change the strategy, but there is no plan "B". Tehran is not going to give up and seeks to impose a war of attrition on the United States. The main Iranian trump cards are the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on the oil and gas infrastructure of the Persian Gulf countries, which is already beginning to have an impact on the global energy market," the expert stated.

In addition, Iran is methodically destroying American military infrastructure in its neighboring countries, which, according to Pilko, will inevitably affect US military capabilities in the region. In turn, Tehran receives brutal blows from its opponents, but its pain threshold is very different from the American one, the expert noted. At the same time, Donald Trump and his team are gradually starting to have problems inside their own country.

"The Democrats in opposition, who are preparing a rematch in the midterm congressional elections this November, are gradually realizing that they have a unique chance to inflict political defeat on the Trump team. A potential candidate from the Democratic Party in future presidential elections and the current governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and former US Vice President Kamala Harris are already openly opposing the White House. Most likely, Barack Obama will join the information game, who may become the main media cannon of the Democrats," predicts Pilko.

Moreover, the expert noted, some prominent Republicans are beginning to take anti-Trump actions.

"Donald Trump has gained some neoconservative sympathy, but his nuclear MAGA audience is already cursing the president. In general, it is clear that the Trump administration already needs to save the situation, but so far they have included only an informational anti-crisis, which looks rather clumsy. Especially after the damage that Iran has inflicted on American military bases in the region. It is clear that Tehran is not going to give up and Washington needs to make a decision," Pilko said.

He cited the options that Washington has.

"The first is to raise the stakes and move to a total infrastructure war against Iran in the hope of achieving paralysis of the country's economy and social sphere. The Iranian side can respond to this with the final destruction of the energy infrastructure of the US allies — the Arab oil monarchies. The second is to continue the operation at the same pace and curtail it in a week or two, announcing that all goals have been achieved. But this is a draw option, in which Iran will look like a winner, and the United States will look like losers. Finally, the third option is to leave everything as it is in the hope of starting internal unrest in Iran, which may not happen. Of course, there is still an option with a ground operation, but for the United States it will be a completely lost cause. Congress will immediately oppose this, and politically it carries enormous risks for the Trump administration," Pilko believes.

In general, he concluded, the situation for the owner of the White House is not good with a tendency to deteriorate.