Six months into the conflict, commentators across Germany's major papers described a campaign that has failed to deliver the swift victory Washington expected.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung's Tomas Avenarius wrote that Tehran's leadership grasped early on that Trump "cannot lose", and used that knowledge to draw the U.S. president step by step into a military and political trap. An air campaign failed to force a decision, a diplomatic bid to reopen the Strait of Hormuz collapsed, and sanctions meant to choke Iran's economy could take years to bite — if they work at all, Avenarius wrote.
Die Zeit went further, arguing a military solution is now out of reach because "Israel and America — the two most modern armies in the world — have failed" to subdue Iran. What Washington expected to be a "walk in the park", the weekly said, is instead proving more costly to America's standing than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It noted that despite heavier casualties, those earlier conflicts never put Washington's role as an "indispensable partner" in doubt — "now, that has happened".
Threats or just smokescreen?
Several commentators tied Trump's threats against Oman and South Korea directly to the setbacks in Iran. "The U.S. president is barking because he cannot bite", Avenarius wrote, arguing Trump has settled on "making a lot of noise" as his only remaining option after military and diplomatic paths stalled.
Die Zeit made a similar case, pointing to Trump's "increasingly wild statements", including the threat against Oman and attempts to pin blame on South Korea, as signs he wants the war over quickly and is struggling to control the narrative. Such moves, the weekly warned, are "accelerating the loss of U.S. control and reputation".
Avenarius argued the bluster masks a harder truth: it is Tehran, not Washington, that holds leverage in the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran works to draw Gulf states — Oman chief among them — into its own maritime security framework, one that could ultimately render American protection unnecessary.
"Iran would become the dominant power in the Persian Gulf. That is why Trump is barking so loudly", he concluded.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung struck a more measured tone, saying a Trump defeat is merely "taking shape" over the Gulf. The paper credited Trump's first term for pursuing Israeli-Arab rapprochement — a strategy it said his "ill-considered attack" on Iran has now undermined.
A ground invasion remains Trump's only realistic path to a decisive outcome, FAZ said, though it doubted he would take that risk.
The paper described the emerging "contours of a postwar order" unfavorable to Washington, with regional middle powers losing confidence in America as a protector — part of a broader shift in which, as FAZ put it, "America is exiting the stage, China is entering it, and middle powers are becoming more independent".
Die Welt's Jacques Schuster pressed the point furthest, writing bluntly: "Iran will win if America continues to hesitate". He said Trump has "stopped halfway", and that his refusal to commit ground forces is weakening both the war effort and America's standing as a global power, since air power alone has never won a war.
Schuster urged Washington to seize islands in the Strait of Hormuz and arm ethnic minorities inside Iran against Tehran's government.
"Trump is delaying on every level", he wrote. "If he continues this way, he will not only allow Iran to become the dominant force in the Middle East, but will also weaken his own country's status as a great power".
(jh)
Source: PAP