World News: The Inability of the United States to End Iran War Rattles Global Partners

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Category: World News - Europe

Published on Sunday, 31 May 2026 08:37

Written by Olivier Longhi

Embarked on a conflict closer to stalemate than to resolution, the United States is losing a little more of its credibility and its aura every day, which had nevertheless made its reputation as a libertarian nation, defender of international law.

But the aggression against Iran has revived the debate about Washington's objectives on a global scale. From a hyperpower to a world policeman, has the United States become the unofficial enemy of the planet today? The question takes on its meaning in view of Iran's aggression, which was undertaken without the approval of the UN Security Council, let alone Congress, nearly three months ago.

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If the term "enemy" may be considered excessive and violent, it at least has the merit of opening the debate on the role of the United States on a global scale, while its president had pledged, at the dawn of his second term, not to involve the homeland of Uncle Sam in new foreign operations, here he is bogged down in a conflict against an adversary that is tougher and fiercer than expected.

But beyond the diplomatic issue to be resolved between the two belligerents, it is the credibility of the United States that is now at stake and with it its ability to respect international law, the United States having given the feeling, or even more, of making a mockery of international institutions, the UN and NATO, in the lead, shamelessly.

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Annexation

From a nation anxious to remain huddled within its borders to give free rein to Trump's thinking of America First, it is now attacking Iran, making a pact with Vladimir Putin's Russia or to the detriment of Ukraine, allowing itself to be convinced by Israel to bomb Iran, condoning the actions of the Jewish nation in Gaza and southern Lebanon, not to mention its threats to annex Greenland and those made against the Jewish nation. Cuba.

From a protective country, cradled by the libertarian and humanist ideals of the eighteenth century, the United States has gone from being a model to be followed to an example to be forgotten. Does this mean that the United States has lost its aura and influence? Neither one nor the other in reality, but it is obvious that both are now tinged with the fear that Washington will attack any nation for the most far-fetched motive, in any case valid enough in the eyes of the occupant of the White House to launch a military operation.

This interventionist escalation around the world risks having "the sole effect of weakening the position of the United States in the world in the long term," acknowledged the neo-conservative American political scientist Robert Kagan on May 26.

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Coat of arms

The reflection is most relevant because to the multitude of targets targeted by the United States is added an impression of global confusion, of a desperate search for a success, whatever it may be, which will allow the White House to restore its image in the weeks to come as the Iranian operation is gradually turning into a military fiasco. For, as Tocqueville recalled, "internal affairs often condition the conduct of foreign affairs".

And by chance of the electoral calendar, the mid-term elections, those supposed to renew the Chamber of Deputies, are due to take place in November and are expected to be full of disillusionment if the Iranian affair is not settled soon and on favorable terms.

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Bio: Olivier Longhi has extensive experience in European history. A seasoned journalist with fifteen years of experience, he is currently a professor of history and geography in the Toulouse region of France. He has held a variety of publishing positions, including Head of Agency and Chief of Publishing. A journalist and recognized blogger, editor, and editorial project manager, he has trained and managed editorial teams, worked as a journalist for various local radio stations, was a press and publishing consultant, and was a communications consultant.