PDB Special Bulletin | Baker & Slater: Is Iran Trying to Trap Trump in a Forever War?

The administration was intoxicated by the Venezuela experience and expected a quick resolution like Putin in Ukraine, misunderstanding the enemy's nature.

The president had massive victories and was on a hot streak, but the Iran conflict hasn't gone well.

There is no pragmatic Islamist leadership in Iran; President Pezeshkian is a figurehead while IRGC hardliners hold real power.

Americans mirror their own values onto overseas adversaries, failing to process how fundamentalists think differently.

The regime will push economic pain to the people and kill its way out of protests rather than lose power, despite soaring inflation and food costs.

Iran believes it can survive until Trump caves to domestic pressure, aided by China's non-cooperation with economic sanctions.

The Islamic Republic's ideology assumes perpetual war and the defeat of infidels, giving the regime no incentive to stop.

Americans value peace and prefer not to have war, questioning if Islam shares this value.