Trump looking for ‘exit ramps’ from Iran war: Analyst

Trita Parsi, vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a foreign think tank in Washington, DC, said President Trump knows the war against Iran is not going well and he’s looking for an exit strategy.

“I think it’s becoming increasingly clear that President Donald Trump himself is not only aware that the war is not going particularly well but that all of his escalatory options are quite problematic because they will inflict a cost on Iran, but it will also inflict major costs on the US,” Parsi said.

“The Iranians clearly have the ability to retaliate. They have clearly shown that they have an ability and a willingness to strike in a manner that will really devastate the global economy, including, of course, the economies of the GCC states, which will have a direct impact on the US economy as well,” he said.

Trump’s’ political support base in the US is also “starting to become nervous about this war”, Parsi said.

“The rest of the country is strongly against it, but the base has been somewhat supportive – strongly supportive in some cases – but [they] are becoming nervous,” he said.

“Trump understands that he needs to find exit ramps,” he added.