Third week of war: Iran displays survivability as Trump sends mixed signals to declare victory

Iran denies having approached the US to negotiate a ceasefire In the third week of the war, Iran is showing clear signs of its ability to survive heavy attacks, giving the United States and Israel the certainty that the conflict will drag on for longer than expected and that the regime will not fall so easily. This evidence, in itself, ends up being a sign of victory for the Islamic Republic, which managed to spread chaos, with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, bombings of oil tankers and targets throughout the Middle East. President Donald Trump, in turn, shows signs that he would like to end the war quickly and declare himself the winner, listing a series of progress made by American forces on his social network. “The Iranian Navy has disappeared, its Air Force no longer exists, missiles, drones and everything else is being decimated, and its leaders have been erased from the face of the Earth,” he posted over the weekend. But this optimistic sales pitch presented by Trump is difficult to buy, as are his statements that Iran called for a ceasefire, soon refuted by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on a flight back to Washington, March 15, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque The American president’s appeal to allied countries, NATO members and China to send ships to unblock the Strait of Hormuz seemed quite contradictory to someone who claims to be winning the war with Iran. In an eight-minute telephone interview with the Financial Times, Trump increased pressure on NATO countries to join their war effort and guarantee the security of the Strait of Hormuz. “It is more than appropriate that the people who benefit from the strait help ensure that nothing bad happens there. If there is no response, or if the response is negative, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO,” he declared. While monitoring the turbulence in oil prices and the stock market, the effects of an unpopular war among Americans and the strengthening of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the American president insists on celebrating. The increasingly confusing statements about the direction of the conflict expose the administration’s miscalculation in its goal of controlling Iran. As Guardian columnist Simon Tisdall summarized, what Trump and the world have in mind is potentially another endless war.

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