{"id":327282,"date":"2026-05-24T07:50:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T07:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=327282"},"modified":"2026-05-25T07:22:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T07:22:52","slug":"trump-ensnared-by-his-own-contradictions-as-iran-dictates-new-strategic-terms-ex-pentagon-analyst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=327282","title":{"rendered":"Trump ensnared by his own contradictions as Iran dictates new strategic terms: Ex-Pentagon analyst"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>By Alireza Kamandi \u2013 Press TV May 23, 2026<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><strong> Michael Maloof, a former security policy analyst in the office of the US Secretary of War (formerly Defense), says US President Donald Trump has been trapped by his own contradictions and a strategic landscape in which Iran decisively dictates the terms.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In an interview with the <em>Press TV website<\/em>, he dissected Trump\u2019s threats against Iran and subsequent retreats, noting that the US president\u2019s claim that the retreats came at the request of Arab states in the Persian Gulf is a fabrication.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom everyone I have spoken with in the region, Trump never consulted the Persian Gulf leaders,\u201d he said, adding that the US president is genuinely hesitant to start another war of aggression against Iran but is under intense pressure from Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n<p>The idea that Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the two countries currently at odds with each other, would jointly ask for a delay is \u201cnonsensical,\u201d Maloof stated, adding that the latest retreat after threatening military action is \u201canother Trump fabrication.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He, however, emphasized that if Trump does not act, Netanyahu will, adding that the Israeli premier promised \u201cregime change\u201d in Iran, but failed to achieve that goal and that his political survival depends on it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore the war of aggression, the Strait of Hormuz was open. Now it\u2019s a restriction for both sides,\u201d he stated. \u201cThe current stalemate is worse than before it started.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked what new card Trump might play in the event of a fresh round of aggression, Maloof appeared skeptical that any viable option exists. \u201cTrump has never had a coherent strategic outline. How does he intend to reach Iran\u2019s nuclear materials hundreds of meters underground?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A frontal war, he said, was met with Iran\u2019s asymmetric capabilities \u2013 striking radar systems, air bases in the Persian Gulf countries, and refueling aircraft, inflicting tremendous financial losses on the US. If Israel becomes involved and targets Iranian infrastructure again, he noted, the consequences would be catastrophic for the entire region.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u270d\ufe0f Analysis &#8211; The geometry of power: Trump\u2019s repeated retreats prove US systemic paralysis, Iran\u2019s strategic ascent<\/p>\n<p>By Press TV Strategic Analysis Desk<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UnwD4fPA0U\">https:\/\/t.co\/UnwD4fPA0U<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FSqXwtMg9w\">pic.twitter.com\/FSqXwtMg9w<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Press TV \uf53b (@PressTV) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PressTV\/status\/2056767095203901537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 19, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Persian Gulf states\u2019 desalination plants would be hit. Those countries would become uninhabitable. Israeli desalination plants would also be targeted, leading to a shutdown,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Domestically, Maloof noticed that American public opinion is firmly against another war.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has doubled our own prices for fuel, food, and fertilizer. Trump is a billionaire; he doesn\u2019t have to worry about the budget, but he is affecting all of us,\u201d he remarked, adding that Iran is running a war of attrition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTime does not matter to Iran, but it does to Trump because of the coming elections. He will lose power and control in the November elections. He thinks everything is like an on-and-off switch, but he has no idea how to end this game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maloof noted that the US has a very limited window. \u201cAmerica has fired a great number of its munitions, sending much to Ukraine. Stockpiles are depleted. Tomahawks and long-range missiles are extremely expensive and limited, and some weapons systems require years to rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>US regional bases are also vulnerable, and Iran has already demonstrated it can hit them, so Washington would have to rely on naval resources, and they\u00a0need replenishment, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow summer heat is approaching, which will impact war-fighting capabilities. The longer Iran draws this out, the more disadvantages accumulate for the US,\u201d the analyst asserted.<\/p>\n<p>When asked whether Iran could enforce a final-stage blockade by closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Maloof was unequivocal.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u270d\ufe0f Analysis &#8211; Empire in freefall: Desperate sabre-rattling against Iran shows US has completely lost the plot<\/p>\n<p>By Press TV Strategic Analysis Desk<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hhkUOHAneK\">https:\/\/t.co\/hhkUOHAneK<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UaGwwEgeuw\">pic.twitter.com\/UaGwwEgeuw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Press TV \uf53b (@PressTV) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PressTV\/status\/2056025062042390655?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 17, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCertainly, it is an option. It would crush over 90 percent of the world economy and lead to depression. Yemen would assist Iran,\u201d he stated, commending Tehran\u2019s calculated and measured approach so far, and adding that it still holds substantial resources in reserve, including hypersonic missiles and drones.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe more ships the US deploys in the region, the more vulnerable it becomes. There is no match between what Iran offers and what the US insists upon. I don\u2019t know what Trump is talking about in terms of acceptance,\u201d he told the Press TV website.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding a recent US Senate resolution to curb Trump\u2019s war powers, Maloof stated that while there is Republican dissatisfaction and total Democratic opposition to this unprovoked and illegal war, the resolution will go nowhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has to be signed by the president, and he will veto it. They don\u2019t have the two-thirds votes to override,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead to Trump\u2019s political future once the war\u2019s dust settles, he predicted the aggression will not end before Trump\u2019s term does.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Iran war has cost him politically and militarily. He has lost influence across the Global South. He thought it could be like Venezuela, just go in and run. Instead, Trump has demonstrated the limits of US power. The Chinese have learned that if they want to take Taiwan, the US will do nothing. America cannot wage a third world war, and it will get no help from Europeans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe policeman of the world is no longer the US. Trump has left himself totally vulnerable. He has lost all credibility as a result of this war. Iran has probably taught him the lessons he refused to learn from the rest of the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.presstv.ir\/Detail\/2026\/05\/23\/769130\/trump-ensnared-own-contradictions-iran-dictates-new-strategic-terms-ex-pentagon-analyst\">Source\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to former Pentagon analyst Michael Maloof, the US president is genuinely hesitant to start another war with Iran but is under immense pressure from Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":177166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,41,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-327282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Commentary","category-Inside_the_White_House_and_Washingtons_Beltway","category-Iran"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=327282"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":327284,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327282\/revisions\/327284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/177166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=327282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=327282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=327282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}