Trump, not Iran, is the world’s greatest danger. He’s a one-man weapon of mass destruction | Simon Tisdall

# Trump, not Iran, is the world’s greatest danger. He’s a one-man weapon of mass destruction

**By LOPINUZE Foreign Affairs Desk**

As the United States intensifies its bombing campaign against Iran, a growing chorus of international analysts and former diplomats argue that President Donald Trump, not Tehran, represents the most destabilizing force in global affairs. The conflict, now entering its fourth month, has not only failed to achieve its stated objectives but has dragged the world into an economic quagmire, with oil prices surging 47% since March and global shipping lanes effectively closed.

“Feckless and clueless, Donald Trump is lost in Iran, unable to find a way out of the disastrous war he started,” writes Simon Tisdall, a veteran foreign affairs commentator for *The Guardian*. “Once again, the US military is pummelling the country and, increasingly, its civilian infrastructure. As before, this unlawful bludgeoning strengthens the resistance of a hardline regime that cares little for its people’s suffering.”

The scale of the military escalation is staggering. According to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the US has conducted over 2,300 airstrikes since operations began in late April, targeting everything from nuclear enrichment facilities to power grids and water treatment plants. The White House claims the campaign is designed to eliminate Iran’s nuclear programme. But World News correspondents on the ground report that civilian casualties have exceeded 14,000, according to humanitarian organizations tracking the conflict.

**The Strait of Hormuz: A Limited Objective**

Control of the Strait of Hormuz—through which approximately 20% of the world’s oil transits—has become the White House’s limited, elusive objective. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has effectively mined the waterway and deployed anti-ship missiles, forcing the US Navy to maintain a costly blockade. Global crude prices have jumped from $72 per barrel in March to over $106 today, triggering inflationary pressures from Tokyo to Berlin.

“The grander US and Israeli war aims—eliminating Iran’s nuclear programme, degrading its regional militias, regime change—are less attainable than ever,” notes Dr. Farideh Farhi, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu specializing in Iranian politics. “It’s Trump’s craven leadership that renders US forces ineffective, not the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. If Iran really is the existential menace he claims, the logical course would be all-out conquest.”

Dr. Farhi’s assessment echoes a broader strategic critique. When President George W. Bush decided Iraq posed unacceptable dangers in 2003, he invaded with 170,000 ground troops. “It was a catastrophe,” Tisdall observes. “But at least Bush had balls.”

**Economic Fallout and Global Recession Risks**

The economic contagion is spreading rapidly. The International Monetary Fund has already downgraded its 2026 global growth forecast from 3.2% to 1.8%, citing the Iran conflict as a primary factor. Supply chains for electronics, pharmaceuticals, and automotive parts—much of which relies on Persian Gulf shipping—have been severely disrupted.

The Finance Desk reports that Asian markets have been hit hardest. Japan’s Nikkei index has fallen 18% since April, while South Korea’s KOSPI has dropped 22%. China, which imports nearly 40% of its crude oil from the Gulf region, has seen its industrial output decline for three consecutive months.

“Trump’s policy is a one-man weapon of mass destruction—economically, diplomatically, and morally,” says Dr. Vali Nasr, a former State Department advisor and professor of international affairs at Johns Hopkins University. “He has dragged the US into a limitless fiasco, and the world into an economic quagmire. There is no exit strategy. There is no clear definition of victory. There is only more bombing.”

**Forward-Looking Analysis**

The trajectory of this conflict appears grim. With no diplomatic off-ramp in sight and Trump’s approval ratings hovering at 36%, the president may feel compelled to escalate further—potentially deploying ground troops or striking deeper into Iranian territory. Meanwhile, Iran has signaled it could resume uranium enrichment to weapons-grade levels within weeks, a move that would trigger a regional arms race involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt.

The only plausible resolution, analysts agree, is a negotiated ceasefire that reopens the Strait of Hormuz and freezes Iran’s nuclear programme. But that would require Trump to admit failure—a step his political instincts have never allowed. As the bombing continues, the world watches a superpower flail, its leader lost in a desert of his own making.