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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
World
Akshay Puri

Can Trump End the Iran Conflict Without Damaging His Presidential Legacy?

Trump’s swift strike on Iran has turned into a prolonged conflict. Allies hesitate, domestic opinion shifts, and history warns of presidential legacies defined by war. (Credit: Gage Skidmore/WikiMedia Commons)

President Donald Trump's 'Epic Fury' operation against Iran has rapidly devolved from a promised 'four-week surgical strike' into a protracted geopolitical quagmire that threatens to consume his second-term agenda.

Launched on 28 February 2026, the joint US-Israeli offensive successfully assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, yet the expected regime collapse has failed to materialise. Instead, Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, has seized the 'red flag of revenge,' overseeing an effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that has sent global oil prices soaring and left American allies in Europe and Asia scrambling for energy alternatives.

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