US-Iran conflict leaves Washington and Tehran facing politically costly stalemate
Barbara Slavin says neither side has found a politically sustainable exit from the Persian Gulf war, with mounting costs in both countries.
Neither Washington nor Tehran has found a politically sustainable way out of the US-Iran war in the Persian Gulf, according to Barbara Slavin, a Distinguished Fellow at the Simpson Center.
Speaking in an interview published by France 24, Slavin described the conflict as a mutually damaging stalemate in which neither side could plausibly claim victory.
She said the war had become a face-saving problem as well as a military and strategic challenge, limiting the political options available to both governments.
For the United States, Slavin identified rising economic and electoral costs. She said Iran was confronting shortages, inflation, domestic dissent and intensified repression.
Slavin’s assessment was not accompanied by specific figures or independent evidence in the source material. The scope and precise status of the conflict were also not further defined.
