Trump desperate to claim 'total US victory' as war approaches key 'crossroads'

President Donald Trump speaks to the media before departing Palm Beach International Airport aboard Air Force One, in West Palm Beach, Florida, March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

President Donald Trump's contentious war in Iran is approaching a major "crossroads," according to a new analysis from CNN, leaving him desperate to craft a "misleading" narrative that will allow him to swiftly claim a "total US victory," despite the bleak reality.

Trump and Israel's joint campaign against Iran is approaching the start of its second month, with no clear signs that it is winding down, despite the president's claims that it was won early on. Attempts to unseat the Iranian government regime proved largely unsuccessful, with the ensuing closure of the Strait of Hormuz also creating a catastrophic global energy supply disruption.

Writing for CNN on Monday, reporter Stephen Collins argued that the U.S. has approached a "fork in the road" that could lead down two very different paths: one in which things continue on, spiraling out of control while costing more lives and billions of dollars; or, one in which things are wrapped up quickly.

"The back and forth and Trump’s whiplash rhetoric shows the war has hit a fork in the road," Collins wrote. "Down one path is a fast-escalating conflict that could widen further with the injection of US ground troops and cause a worsening worldwide economic conflagration. But the high costs of the showdown for the United States and the Islamic Republic also give reason to hope the war could be reined in before it gets even worse."

Collins further argued that Trump, as other reports have indicated, is desperate for the latter path, highlighting a address to reporters in which he tried to claim that regime change had actually been accomplished in Iran. While the previous leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was assassinated early on in the conflict, he was quickly replaced by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is said to be more hardline than his father. As Collins explained, Trump is putting forward a "misleading" narrative to the public in order to justify calling the war a "total US victory."

"We’ve had regime change, if you look already, because the one regime was decimated, destroyed, they’re all dead,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. “The next regime is mostly dead, and the third regime, we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before.”

"The best estimate of many Iran experts is that while many top clerical and military leaders have perished, the regime previously decentralized power to ensure it could survive high-profile assassinations and still appears to be controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," Collins wrote. "Trump’s blend of hyperbole and misdirection makes it hard to know whether he’s trying to create a diplomatic breakthrough or a justification for more intense military action."

He concluded: "Those potential costs on the battlefield and at home only underscore the president’s unappetizing options and the gamble he took by deciding to go to war in the first place. History shows most modern wars end more messily than presidents predict when they launch them. Even if Trump now opts for diplomacy over escalation, this one nowthreatens to undercut hisbullish claims about the invulnerability of US power and his own global dominance."

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