U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation about the Iran war at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. April 1, 2026. Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS
America has been “emasculated,” writes The Bulwark’s Jonathan V. Last, who argues that Iran has emerged victorious in President Donald Trump’s war — and that America has lost — as he examines the scope of our defeat.
“When this war ends in ‘two or three weeks’ the Iranian regime will be more securely in power than it was before the war and it will have demonstrated the power of a strategic weapon,” Last declares.
Trump started the war more than 30 days ago without stating any clear goals. Over that time, the president and his administration officials have suggested several goals, as Last writes: “Topple the Islamic Republic and install a new regime” and “Leave the regime in place, but decapitate it and exercise control over the choice of its next leader.”
During his prime-time White House address Wednesday night, Trump “abandoned every single one of these objectives.”
Instead, the Islamic Republic still controls Iran, and its supreme leader was chosen without Trump’s input. There’s been no change to the status of its nuclear program, its drones continue to fly, and the military has no idea what Iran’s stock of ballistic missiles looks like.
“Trump concedes that America is willing to end operations with the strait still closed and has punted responsibility for achieving that objective to other nations,” Last observes. He concludes: “If, in February, you had told Iran that they could trade all of the above outcomes for the destruction of their navy and air force, they would have taken that deal in a heartbeat.”
Last highlights the dire situation:
“By abdicating responsibility for the strait and saying it should be someone else’s problem, America is inviting into existence a rival economic and military alliance.”
Calling it “absolute madness,” Last warns that China will step in.
“If America isn’t going to lead, someone else will—not just in the Strait of Hormuz but around the world. Trump is giving China the green light to exert its influence in the Indo-Pacific. He is opening the door for Chinese cooperation with Europe. He is putting Taiwan—and hence the global supply of semiconductors—at China’s mercy. He is prompting the rest of the world to organize a new global order according to their interests.”