Perspective with Andrew Dickens: Has Trump locked America into a 'forever war'?

Author: Andrew Dickens,
Publish Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2026, 5:34pm

Photo by Contributor / Getty Images

So, it’s been more than two months since the president announced what he described as a ceasefire with Iran and suggested a major deal was just days away. This was back on April 7.

The president said on social media that the two sides were “very far along”, adding that they just needed two weeks for the agreement to be finalised and consummated. But of course, that never happened.

And yet, in the weeks and months since, the president has continued to insist that a deal is right around the corner—again and again. In fact, he’s now made that claim 38 times, a fact seized on by Iran.

Through social media posts, public remarks and interviews, he keeps saying an agreement is imminent or that Iran is eager to strike one. And there’s little indication that those claims are any more accurate than they were back in early April.

So, what’s he doing?

He could be trying to calm the financial markets. He could believe that repeating the claim might actually help bring it to life. Or, more likely, he’s simply misread the entire situation.

I was listening to Heather this morning, and more and more analysts—from both sides of politics—are starting to doubt his credibility and publicly voice concerns that he has locked the United States into a forever war.

And increasingly, people are saying that the US never fully understood that Iran’s real weapons of mass destruction were gifted by geography: its oil, and its ability to close the Strait of Hormuz using little more than speedboats with bazookas. That he never fully grasped the potential effect on the global economy.

You know, there’s a thing called TDS—and it appears the real derangement syndrome here is the belief that the president has this under control.

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