Greek newspaper Ta Nea drew a pointed parallel between the current US-Israeli strategy in Iran and Russia’s disastrous early assumptions in Ukraine in 2022. Just as Putin believed he could take Kyiv in three days, critics argue that Washington and Tel Aviv may be underestimating Iranian resolve, buoyed by earlier “successful” operations that bred overconfidence. “Both Putin and Trump had a previous ‘successful’ experience that filled them with confidence and pushed them to repeat it on a larger scale,” the analysis noted.
The war is also reshaping American domestic politics. As Dawn reported, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — both viewed as potential 2028 presidential candidates — are being pulled in different directions. Vance has adopted a cautious posture reflecting his skepticism toward prolonged military commitments, while Rubio has aligned himself firmly with the administration’s hawkish stance. The Iran war may ultimately define who inherits the Republican Party after Trump.
Perhaps most alarmingly, the conflict is reigniting a global nuclear conversation. Countries from Germany to Poland, long sheltered under the American nuclear umbrella, are now openly discussing acquiring their own deterrents. The post-Cold War order, in which nuclear proliferation was considered a settled question, appears to be unraveling.
