Trump risks ‘forever war’ in Iran, US ex-defence chief warns

The US-Israel war on Iran may be drawn out for another six months, former US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has cautioned.

In an interview with The Guardian, Panetta said the conflict is on track to become “another failed war” in the Middle East “like Iraq and Afghanistan”.

“I think the likelihood is this war is going to continue for another six months without being resolved,” Panetta said, calling it a potential “forever war”.

Washington’s other adversaries, he added, now “see weakness in terms of our ability to be able to really implement our military capability of defending our country”.

The deadlock in the Strait of Hormuz – and Trump’s repeatedly disproved claims of victory – mean the US president does “not have credibility, [and] any threats he makes are totally ignored”, Panetta said.

-Al Jazeera