BALANCE SHEET OF IRAN WAR.
SARASIJ MAJUMDER
Has Trump Accomplished His 5 Goals In Iran War? The US President claims to have achieved all his goals, but the reality of the US and Israel’s conflict with Iran appears to be more complicated.
HERE’S WHAT EMERGED:
Fragile Ceasefire: A two-week conditional ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan, began on April 8, 2026. It has halted direct US and Israeli strikes on Iran but is under immense strain due to ongoing Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
High-level delegations from the US and Iran met in Islamabad from 11/04/2026 to discuss ending the war in the Middle East.
While the United States and Israel achieved significant tactical victories by degrading Iran’s military infrastructure, the war has failed to secure a definitive political or nuclear settlement in favour of USA.
CURRENT MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC STATUS:
Failed Peace Talks: Historic face-to-face negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, ended on April 12, 2026, without a final agreement. US Vice President JD Vance stated that while discussions were substantive, the two sides remain far apart on key issues.
US Vice President JD Vance has left Islamabad after talks with Iran ended without a deal, saying he has put forward a “final and best offer”.
He refused to become a ‘SCAPE GOAT’, on the face of IRAN’s obstinacy.
Sources close to the Iranian delegation tell news agencies that the US was looking for an excuse to leave the talks and that the ball is in America’s court.
NOW WHAT HAPPENS AFTER PEACE TALK FAILED?
POST MEETING SCENERIO:
US President Donald Trump said that Washington had won the war on Iran regardless of how the talks concluded.
Iran has denied US claims that two of its ships transited the Strait of Hormuz to clear mines and warned that any attempt by military vessels to pass through the waterway would be met with a “strong response”.
Israel continues to strike southern Lebanon, with at least 13 HEZBOLLAH people killed in an Israeli strike on the town of Tefahta yesterday.
Strait of Hormuz: Iran maintains a blockade on this critical waterway, which remains the primary source of its strategic leverage. Despite US efforts to begin mine-clearing operations, the strait remains effectively closed to most global energy traffic. The location of mines laid are unmapped—as claimed by IRAN!
WAR CASUALTIES AND DAMAGE:
The conflict has exacted a devastating human and economic toll. Human Cost is over 3,600 people killed in Iran, including 1,000 civilians. Lebanon has seen over 2,000 deaths due to parallel fighting, but most of them are HEZBOLLAH fighters, or their supporters.
I consider the accuracy in target by USA & ISRAEL kept co-lateral casualty quite minimum. Media is exaggerating it.
Leadership Losses: Highly Accurate strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and many top IRGC commanders. Khamenei has been succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who may be now in a fatally injured state.
Military Impact: US officials claim to have destroyed over 90% of the Iranian Navy and severely degraded its ballistic missile and drone production facilities.
GLOBAL ECONOMIC FALLOUT:
The war has triggered the largest energy supply disruption in history. But Trump removed sanction on Iran , and Russia to sell CRUDE, to keep the impact under control.
Energy Crisis: Brent crude oil surged past $120 per barrel at its peak and currently trades near $100.
Inflation: Gasoline prices in the US have jumped to over $4.00 per gallon, contributing to a sharp rise in consumer inflation to 3.3% in March.
Supply Chain Disruptions: The closure of regional airspace and maritime routes has paralyzed global aviation and caused a 40–120% spike in food prices across the Gulf states.
STRATEGIC SUMMARY
Tactical Winner: United States &Israel, because of their SUPERIORITY in precision strikes and air dominance. They largely destroyed Iran’s fighting ability for the time being, and eliminated top and mid-level leaderships. Iran suffered Severe infrastructure damage and economic contraction.
Strategic Winner: Iran. They Survived the onslaught, maintained its theocracy, and holds the 22% of world’s energy supply as hostage by closing HORMUZ.
Biggest Losers: Global Economy & Gulf States.
REVIEW OF USA’S ACHIEVEMENTS:
US President Donald Trump maintains that the Iranian military has suffered defeat. On being asked whether he was claiming victory with the ceasefire, Trump told AFP, “Total and complete victory. 100 per cent. No question about it.”
At the beginning of the strikes, Trump had laid out a few goals in a video message. He said that the major objective of “Operation Epic Fury” was to ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, besides destroying its navy and paving the way for regime change in the country.
Ahead of the USA’S meeting with Iranian officials on Saturday in Islamabad for a longer peace deal, here’s taking a look at what Mr. Trump has accomplished so far:
In his video message, Trump said the US aimed to completely destroy Iran’s missiles. A few days ago, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that they had “functionally destroyed” Tehran’s missile programme, along with its launchers, production facilities, as well as existing stockpiles.”
But Hegseth mentioned that Iran “can still shoot” missiles, adding that it “would be very, very unwise”. He stated that Iran would no longer build missiles, rockets, launchers, or unmanned aerial vehicles.
Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told The Washington Post that while the number of missiles coming out of Iran has dropped, they are still firing.
“I’m assuming they can still manufacture (and) launch missiles,” Vatanka said.
Trump’s Claim On The Iranian Navy:
On Trump’s plan to “annihilate” Iran’s navy, Hegseth and Joint Chiefs’ Chairman Gen. Dan Caine this week said that Iran’s navy had been obliterated.
“The Iranian Navy now lies mostly at the bottom of the Arabian Gulf, and we assess that we’ve sunk more than 90 per cent of their regular fleet, including all of the major surface combatants,” Caine said.
It is true, most probably.
What About Iran’s ‘Terrorist Proxies’?
Trump vowed that the US is ensuring that the “region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces.”
Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has suggested that the US President was likely referring to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Shiite militias in Iraq, as well as Hamas in Gaza.
Taleblu suggests that the operation was focused on Iran’s military capabilities, without any significant attempt to take on its proxies in the region.
Israel has taken care of HAMAS, mostly, and now is engaged with HEZBOLLAH.
NUCLEAR POWER:
Trump said that Iran’s nuclear facilities were “totally obliterated” in June of last year when the US carried out strikes, “Operation Midnight Hammer,” against three major Iranian nuclear sites.
Giving credit to Trump for stopping Iran from uranium enrichment, Taleblu said, “If you marry the two (combat operations), the image you get is really an extended shelf life for the win that the president scored against the regime last June.”
But the enriched uranium still remains in Iran.
In a social media post, Trump earlier this week said the US will work with Iran to “dig up and remove all of the deeply buried” enriched uranium. A tall Talk!
Regime Change:
In his video, Trump encouraged the Iranian people to seize their government after the initial strikes, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with more than a dozen military and intelligence leaders.
He now claims that the country has “gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change!”
Khamenei has been succeeded by his son, Mojtaba, who is said to be a hard-liner theocratic ruler, now may be fatally ill from Bomb Hit that killed his father.
If he dies, the replacement will not be any better.
YOUR JOB IS AS BEST HALF-DONE, Mr. PRESIDENT, AS ON TODAY!! WILL YOU COMPLETE IT, PLEASE?? NOW, OR NEVER. USA MAY HAVE TO FACE TWO NUCLEAR ARMED PROXIES CONTROLLED BY CHINA FROM ASIA IN FUTURE.
Sources:
Al Jazeera, BBC, U.S. News & World Report, Modern War Institute.
