Iran war: Hegseth declares ‘historic’ victory for US

04/08/2026April 8, 2026

Iran war ‘one of the greatest miscalculations by an American president’ — Middle East expert to DW

Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle Eastern politics and international relations at the London School of Economics, has told DW that US President Donald Trump had seriously miscalculated in launching the war with Iran.

“I think [the war] will be seen in history … as one of the greatest miscalculations by an American president,” Gerges said.

“President Trump not only has undermined his own credibility as a negotiator, he has undermined America’s standing in the world,” he said.

Gerges said Trump “was desperate to find an off-ramp” and was offered one by the Iranian leadership in accepting a two-week truce.

He said that Iran’s 10-point peace proposal was essentially a “wishlist” and multiple points were likely to be contentious for Washington.

Gerges argued that Trump had reduced his objectives over the course of the war, saying that the US president initially emphasized regime change but later focused largely on opening the Strait of Hormuz.

“All he cares about is opening the Strait of Hormuz for shipping, even though the Strait of Hormuz was open for shipping before the war,” he said. “One of the results of the war was that Iran was able to block the Strait of Hormuz.”

“Iran, from the beginning, was willing to negotiate. It was the United States and Israel that pre-empted the diplomatic process and attacked Iran,” he said.

Analyst: Trump ‘undermined America’s standing in the world’

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Iran’s leadership ’emboldened’ by war

He said that the United States and Israel’s war on Iran has “strengthened and emboldened the Islamic Republic domestically.”

“The war has come at the expense of the Iranian people,” he said, pointing to civilian deaths and damage to infrastructure from the US-Israeli bombing campaign.

He said it was likely that the US’ Gulf Arab allies would “try to diversify their relations,” as they were “disappointed” with Trump’s handling of the war.

“A new security architecture will have to be created to ensure stability in the Gulf,” he said. “The old system has been shattered to a million pieces.”

He said that he believed Israel would also “emerge much weaker” from the war and that Gulf states would not seek to deepen their ties to the country.