Trump had no choice but to retreat from the battlefield.

The world is still buzzing with the exciting news of a Memorandum Of Understanding that was reached between the U.S and Iran at the beginning of this week. 

The MOU which will be officially unveiled to the world on Friday, 19th 2026, entails a framework that will see the U.S and Iran blockades on the strait of Hormus immediately lifted, a cessation of hostile activity for at least 60 days, a discussion on Iran's nuclear program and a permanent end to hostilities between the United States of America and Iran.

For the U.S and Iran to get to this  point was not a smooth run. It has  been a complicated journey that has seen President Trump repeatedly abandoning negotiations for military action against Iran. Read more about Trump's erratic policy on Iran here: https://amwaldah.blogspot.com/2026/05/trumps-confusing-policy-on-iran-what.html 

From the look of things, Trump never  really wanted to sign a deal with Iran. Otherwise, he would not have cancelled the JCOPOA agreement in the first place.  https://amwaldah.blogspot.com/2026/05/trumps-confusing-policy-on-iran-what.html

The President of the mightiest country in the world was probably convinced into thinking that Iran would be an easy nut to crack. 

After an intense 12 day war between Iran and Israel in 2025, the U.S and Israel were convinced that Iran had significantly been degraded militarily and any military attack on the country shortly before it could rebuild, would just finish off the already weakened state.

This prompted the 2 countries into launching Operation Epic Fury that was intended to finish the job of completely dismantling Iran's military and leadership capabilities. My, oh My! Instead of producing the desired effects, The Epic Fury has turned out to be one of America's worst nightmares in this day! 

Deploying the asymetric war fare and effectively using their missile and drone arsenal to strike back at U.S and Israeli interests across the Middle East, Iran has put up a formidable fight for its survival that has left the whole world shaking their heads in amusement. 

Furthermore, the war has had quite a number of reverse effects that have left the U.S with no choice but to go back to the negotiation table, this time taking the talks seriously. 

Below are some of the nightmares experienced by the United States in their latest assault on Iran:

What was meant to be a few weeks' operation turned into a major end to end confrontation with Iran, which entered into its forth month before the warring parties could reach a  Memorandum of Understanding.

The most shocking reverse effect of the Epic Fury is the failure of the assault to bring about the fall of the Islamic regime. 

By assasssinating the Supreme leader of the country on the first day of the war, the Americans and Israelis hoped to create confusion among the Iranians and weaken the resolve of the country's men in uniform. 

For a spiritual leader who had guided the nation for over 40 years, the aggressors believed that his abrupt demise would obviously demoralize the population from supporting the regime hence, subsequently sowing discord amongst the Iranian people. The reverse of this happened. The operation rather radicalised the Islamic Republic. 

Many of the masses who had hitherto believed in Trump's promises of bringing them freedom, changed their minds. There was no way they were going to fall for the same treachery that the Libyans fell for in 2011, which left their country in shambles. 

Not wanting to become another Libya, the majority of Iranians rallied behind their flag, as they could not collaborate with a guardian angel who targeted civilian infrastructure and threatened to hit their country back to the "Stone Age." 

The Epic Fury united Iranians more than ever yet the Americans and Israelis were counting on throwing the country into chaos.

Furthermore, the demise of the old Khamenei ushered in his son Mojtaba Khamenei as the successor to his father and not surprisingly, more radical. 

Mojtaba, is reportedly the sole survivor of the strikes that killed his father and the rest of his closest family including his wife and children.  He is also reported to have sustained major injuries that disfigured his face and had him losing one of his legs. Wounded in body and soul, Mojtaba has taken a noticeably more hardline and militant stance with his administration always rejecting ceasefire and de-escalation proposals which called for Iran to make major concessions. 

The U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran hardened the Iranians' stance in negotiations rather than force them into quick concession.

 Despite massive damage to Iranian infrastructure, Tehran remains adamant about enriching uranium, retains its Strait of Hormuz leverage, and repeatedly demanded that the U.S. unfreeze its funds and end its blockade, things that the U.S has finally conceded to. 

The U.S. aborted diplomacy on the eve of a scheduled Geneva meeting in February to launch strikes. 

Analysts argue that this costly conflict resulted in a chaotic strategic environment, making Iran more adaptive and determined rather than compliant. To keep on hitting them seemed to make them more hardened therefore calling for a swift change of approach by the Americans.

Operation Epic Fury did not destroy Iran's missile capabilities. This is primarily because much of Iran's arsenal and launching infrastructure was deeply buried in hardened underground bunkers that air strikes struggled to reach. U.S. intelligence assessments (such as those from the New York Times and CNN) found that Iran retained roughly 70% of its pre-war missile stockpiles and mobile launchers. 

While tactical operations shattered above-ground command structures and production facilities, the inability to consistently strike fortified, deep-underground bunkers allowed Iran to preserve a significant portion of its long-range strike capacity. Coastal defense cruise missiles and a large percentage of attack drones remained largely intact, allowing Iran to continue posing a threat to shipping traffic and the Strait of Hormuz. This exposed the limited ability of U.S.A's overrated GBU bunker buster bombs along with the B 52 bombers that are highly praised for dismantling bunkers.  

Recently, before Mr. Trump could abruptly consent to a permanent end of hostilities against Iran, the U.S launched fresh attacks on Iran's coastal cities apparently to retaliate the downing of their Apache helicopter and to punish Iran for refusing  to sign a deal with the U.S. 

Iran's response to these fresh attacks was reportedly harsher than what was seen in the 40 days of active fighting. 

Fars News Agency reported, citing a well-informed military source, that Iran carried out a complex intelligence and operational plan during the strikes launched at dawn on Thursday 11th 2026 against several US military bases in the region. The source said that the attacks inflicted significant damage on expensive U.S military equipment. 

Iranian forces reportedly tracked the flight paths and deployment locations of two large US P-8 aircraft from the moment they took off. One of the aircraft had taken off from Diego Garcia Air Base in the Indian Ocean, while the other flew from a U.S base in Western Europe heading toward the southern Gulf region.

The source added that the locations where the two aircraft were stationed, Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, were targeted with Iranian precision weapons.

According to the source, Iran also monitored the deployment of at least three US F-35 fighter jets inside a hangar at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan until shortly before the missile launches. The exact location of the hangar was then targeted with long-range solid-fuel missiles. 

The further the U.S kept the operation going, the more its weaknesses got exposed. Hence, an abrupt authorization of the resumption of peace talks with Iran.

Iran's assault on Gulf States further exposed the U.S.A's inability to defend Arab States against attacks from their enemies. 

Before the war, leaders of the Gulf States seemed to believe that the massive presence of U.S bases in the region gave them unshakable protection against their enemies . Then the Epic Fury happens and Iran retaliates by attacking U.S military assets all around the Middle East, reportedly destroying at least 17 U.S military bases in the region. 

The world looked on in astonishment as the protector was being ravaged before the eyes of those he came to protect. 

Instead of solely attacking U.S military bases, Iran launched strikes on several physical and economic infrastructure of the Gulf States. Iran targeted sites including Jebel Ali Airport in the UAE,  Qatar energy facilities at Ras Laffan, key energy installations in Saudi Arabia and recently , a deadly drone strike on an airport in Kuwait that left over 63 people injured and the airport closed for about 48 hours. 

President Trump also admitted that these attacks were a shocker to American war strategists. "They weren't supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East... Nobody expected that. We were shocked," Trump admitted in one of his interviews about his war with Iran. [1] 

By the time the U.S and Iran got to signing the MOU, president Trump had started losing the backing of the Arabs as the war had directly had a negative impact on their financial and security standing. When Gulf allies requested fresh supplies to defend their airspace, they reportedly faced pushback or delays from Washington. [2] 

The way the U.S. handled the war forced a strategic shift. Observers and military experts noted that Arab leaderships became disillusioned with the belief that American military presence automatically guarantees deterrence. As a result, states like the Saudi Arabia have independently explored alternative security arrangements, including deeper integration with countries like Pakistan.

The economic cost of the Epic Fury: The U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran that began on February 28, 2026—is estimated to have cost the United States between $26.5 and $36 billion. Driven by high munitions usage and asset losses, the daily operational cost initially reportedly peaked at approximately $1.88 billion before stabilizing at lower rates. [1, 2, 3]. 

The primary economic cost drivers are split between direct military spending and broader market impacts:

*Direct Military Spending: 

The Department of Defense reportedly spent roughly $25 billion during the active conflict phase. The first 100 hours of the campaign alone consumed an estimated $3.7 billion in munitions, relying heavily on Tomahawk missiles and PAC-3 interceptors. [2,]

*Asset Losses: 

The operation incurred high capital replacement costs, including the destruction of F-15E strike fighters, Reaper drones, and a THAAD radar system in Qatar, with asset losses in the first few days exceeding $2.5 billion. [1,]

*Energy Market Shock: The conflict triggered indirect economic impacts, notably a temporary spike in global energy prices. The U.S. national average for gasoline initially surged by roughly 50 to 70 cents per gallon. [2,]

By deploying cheap drones and naval blockades, Iran successfully halted up to 95% of standard commercial tanker traffic, trapping thousands of vessels and slashing global energy and fertilizer supplies. [1 ] 

*Energy Shocks: The bottleneck caused the largest disruption to world energy supply since the 1970s, temporarily driving Brent crude oil prices above $120 per barrel. [1]

Iran successfully enforced closures on the United States, Israel, and allied nations, while selectively allowing the transit of "friendly" or authorized vessels. [1,]

The restricted trade volume caused sharp spikes in global food and commodity prices. This granted Tehran significant geopolitical leverage, forcing the U.S back to the negotiation table.

Depleted Defenses: 

Iran's schocking retaliatory response stretched the United States' stockpiles of critical air defense interceptors. How was the U.S supposed to carry on without protective gear?

Last but not least, the Epic Fury was destroying President Trump's reputation as a strong statesman. The reverse effects of the Epic Fury has had the U.S president always changing his statements from  announcing that a deal is imminent to announcing fresh attacks on Iran the next day. This has had a number of people questioning the old man's cognitive capabilities. Getting a glorious retreat from the devastating war was the only thing that could redeem his faltering name hence, agreeing to an MOU with a country he thought was not worth a deal at all. ( https://amwaldah.blogspot.com/2026/05/trump-is-too-arrogant-to-make-deal-with.html )

In conclusion therefore, given the long list of failures witnessed from the Epic  Fury, it is not wrong for one to conclude that despite his egocentric  character, president Trump had no choice but to admit that the his military campaign won't achieve U.S objectives in Iran thereby opting for negotiations once again. This time, taking talks seriously or, so we believe!