BBC Expert Calls Iran War A Severe Blunder In Trump Critique

A senior BBC expert has branded the Iran war “a severe blunder” as he slammed Donald Trump’s handling of the crisis.

Jeremy Bowen, the corporation’s international affairs editor, said the US president’s decision to launch air strikes in February had been “a gross miscalculation”.

He also hit out at Trump’s “famously limited attention span” and said he was now desperately trying to find a way out of the conflict.

His comments came as the president once again claimed Iran wants to agree a deal to end the war – but with no permanent ceasefire in sight.

Bowen said: “It seems that President Trump is deeply reluctant to get back into any kind of sustained military action against the Iranians. He’d like this whole thing to be over, he’d like to find a way out of what actually was a gross miscalculation back in February.

“On the Iranian side, they have fundamental demands that they believe are existential, and it’s pretty clear I’d say that more strikes are not going to budge them on that.”

He said the “best case scenario” at the moment would be a memorandum of understanding between both sides which would allow them to continue peace talks without a return to fighting.

But he added: “If the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened, that is economically disastrous for much of the rest of the world, including the United Kingdom.

“I think we’re seeing the consequences of what was a really severe blunder by the Americans and the Israelis to attack Iran back in February. They got it wrong because they underestimated the degree to which the Iranians were prepared to rise this out.”

Bowen went on: “We’re seeing this continued period of confusion, and at the centre of it is Donald Trump, with his famously limited attention span when it comes to really difficult situations, his desire for quick victories, and in this case, his absolute inability to deliver one.”

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