Iran US War | Will The Us-Iran War Ever End? | Tehran | Trump | Iran

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Has the US Iran war become America's next forever war? We ask this question because what began as a rapid military escalation is now beginning to resemble something far more dangerous and far more prolonged. That is a war of attrition with no visible exit ramp.

[00:00:17]Right now, the battlefield is expanding beyond missiles and air strikes. The costs are in fact exploding beyond military numbers. oil prices, shipping planes, inflation, global markets, all of them are now very much stakeholders in this conflict. And perhaps the most important aspect is neither Washington nor Thran appear ready for any sort of not surrender, but at least compromise, at least meet the other side midway. In strategic circles, experts are now openly drawing comparisons with America's past forever wars, Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam. And has the Iran war actually now crossed that threshold and reach that point of no return? The US insists it isn't that situation right now? Listen in.

[00:01:05]>> Forever war. We're going to take care of business and come home. That's what the president's promised and that's exactly what he's going to deliver.

[00:01:14]But the devil actually lies in detail viewers. You see, the war began on the 28th of February this year after coordinated US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

[00:01:24]On 23rd of May, the war has entered its 84th day. 84 days and counting and no clear endgame insight. Let's tell you exactly what all has been the kind of spending. The Pentagon says that the estimate is at about just $29 billion.

[00:01:41]That's what the Pentagon's official estimate is. But there are analysts who believe that the real burn is far higher. In fact, there's a Harvard Kennedy School estimate that puts the cost at $2 billion a day. At 84 uh 84 days, you're actually talking about $170 billion. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Several experts now warned that if the conflict expands, drags on, the final Kibil could actually be resembling probably close to the Iraq number, Afghanistan's scale of spending, potentially even rearing that trillion mark. And make no mistake, American consumers are feeling the pinch. They are feeling the pressure. Analysts estimate $35 billion in additional gas and diesel costs that have been linked to this conflict-driven energy spike.

[00:02:28]$144 billion is what is it on the other side and that's where we want to now tell you that the Iranian wartime spending is no less though of course it's a little hard to quantify because really doesn't publish transparent military accounts but we are going by what analysts are estimating they say that billions of dollars have been spent whether it's on missiles whether it's on drone ops whether it's on economic shutdown losses you add up all of it infrastructure destruction and you get a figure that's equally staggering That is about $144 billion. Estimates are cited by the foundation for air defense of democracies, FDD, a very prominent think tank in Washington DC. And one of the most striking projections that suggests Iran may actually be spending or has already done about $144 billion. Now, what is it at equal to? It is roughly 40% of Iranian pre-war GDP. And as per estimates referenced by CFR, nearly 1 million jobs may have been impacted, lost inside Iran due to the war economy.

[00:03:31]As I said, these are just some of the back of the envelope calculations. It gets worse from here on. Trump still maintains that if he doesn't get 100% good answers from Iran, then his forces are ready to go in once again. As I said, there is no climb down. There is no offramp. Listen in to the president of United States. a very uh right on the borderline. Believe me, if we don't get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We're all ready to go. We have to get the right answers. It would have to be a complete 100% good answers. And if we do, we save a lot of time, energy, and lives most importantly.

[00:04:12]>> And now here's the thing. America entered this conflict promising deterrence. In fact, Iran entered it promising resistance. But after more than, as I said, 84 days in counting, the world is now confronting a far more uncomfortable possibility that this may no longer be a short conflict with a clear objective, but the beginnings of another long war with no clear ending in sight.

[00:04:38]In fact, fueling fears that this conflict could spiral into another forever war is Donald Trump's latest digital provocation. The US president actually shared a fictional AI generated map of the entire Middle East showing American dominance across the region and an aggressive red arrows that actually pointed directly at Iran. This was posted on Truth Social alongside the warning that said the clock is ticking for Thran. The graphic has been seen as a new phase of psychological warfare as diplomacy pretty much continues to collapse. This report tells you more.

[00:05:18]This map is now at the center of a growing geopolitical storm. Posted by Donald Trump on Truth Social, the AI generated graphic shows the Middle East covered with an American flag and multiple red arrows aimed directly at Iran. Soon after the post, Trump doubled down with a direct threat to Thran. The US president warned that the clock is ticking and said Iran must move fast toward a deal or risk being left with nothing.

[00:05:50]The language marked another sharp escalation in tensions already pushing the region deeper into uncertainty.

[00:05:59]But Thran responded with mockery instead of retreat. Soon after Trump's post went viral, Iranian linked accounts released a video appearing to ridicule the American president's AI war map.

[00:06:13]Animated characters were shown washing away the threats. Before the clip transitioned into a galaxy themed Iranian flag, the caption read, "Trump drew threats on our map. We brought a galaxy." Iran also made it clear that dialogue would not mean surrender.

[00:06:31]Officials in Thran warned that any new aggression would be met with a stronger response. The rhetoric is hardening, the military planning is expanding, and the psychological battle is intensifying by the day, which raises an increasingly uncomfortable question for the world. Is this conflict moving toward resolution or drifting into another endless war? We report NDTV World.