President Donald Trump has wisely muted his boasts of ending the Ukraine war in a day. His peacemaking energies might be better diverted to another intractable conflict: the US standoff with Iran.
Iran, the main US adversary in the Middle East, is weaker than it’s been in decades. A high inflation rate, a plummeting currency, capital outflows and lack of investment have hollowed out the economy. A brutal crackdown on protesters has enraged ordinary citizens. Most important, Israel has literally blown up Tehran’s strategy of using proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah as a first line of defense. Israeli strikes have dismantled key air defenses, exposing critical installations to attack.