Three weeks into the war on Iran, with no decisive military outcome in sight and global energy markets under strain, a former senior U.S. defense official has put forward what he calls the most prudent course available to Washington: declare a limited victory and get out.
The proposal comes from Ilan Goldenberg, who served as Iran Team Chief at the Pentagon under Obama and later as Special Adviser on the Middle East to Vice President Kamala Harris. Writing in Foreign Affairs, he argued that President Trump should announce that U.S. forces have substantially achieved their military objectives and signal a willingness to halt further escalation, "Hvylya" reports.
Specifically, Goldenberg proposed that the administration declare it has degraded Iran's capabilities - a more limited claim than Trump's initial call for regime change - and pair this with assurances that Washington will rein in Israel. Future U.S. support for strikes on Iran would be conditional: only if Tehran restarts its nuclear program or attacks regional partners.
Iran would likely reject such an offer initially, Goldenberg acknowledged. But a U.S. posture oriented toward de-escalation could shift international pressure onto Tehran. "Key global actors, including China, Europe, and Gulf states, all of whom have strong interests in stabilizing energy markets, would have incentives to push for an end to the conflict," he wrote. They would apply greater pressure on Iran to de-escalate as well.
Goldenberg conceded this would not constitute a clear victory. The United States would remain entangled in the region, managing a weakened but more aggressive Iran. Relations with Gulf partners strained by a war they did not seek may never fully recover. And the resources diverted to the Middle East would leave the U.S. military stretched thin in the Indo-Pacific. But the alternative, he argued, is worse: "The task ahead is not to rescue an elusive victory but to limit the damage."
Also read: "Drones Are Ukraine's Oil": Zelensky Made His Pitch to the Gulf as Iran War Erupted.