Middle East Crisis Reactions from the World

Swedish reactions
Expert: Trump has no final plan – could end in disappointment for many

Not even Donald Trump himself knows what his final plan for Iran is. This is what Jan Hallenberg, US expert and associate senior researcher at the Swedish Institute for International Affairs, tells TT.

Hallenberg believes that the US will continue bombing for a few weeks, after which Trump will declare victory, withdraw his forces and leave a bombed-out Iran and the Middle East to their fate.

The whole thing risks ultimately ending in disappointment for many, according to Hallenberg.

– Trump will be able to say that he has weakened the regime, that the Ayatollah is dead and a number of other military leaders are dead. But he will hardly be able to say that the regime has fallen.


Analysis: Trump's dilemma is how long the war should last

Donald Trump's dilemma now is whether to declare victory in Iran or escalate the war, writes Dominic Waghorn for Sky News.

"He says it could last for weeks - is he serious and can the US hold out for that long?"

Warnings have been leaked from the Pentagon that the US force in the region has enough resources for a week or two of warfare, and Gulf states are already reportedly asking Trump to call an end because their stock of anti-aircraft missiles is running out quickly, according to Waghorn.

The fact that the US and Israel have superior weapons does not make wars of attrition easy, write Amos C Fox and Franz-Stefan Gady in Foreign Policy.

"In short, running out of ammunition is always a problem."

This applies especially to the advanced, guided weapons that the US and Israel use - production is too expensive and slow, they continue.

The Trump administration has clearly shown that they have interests rather than friends, writes SVT's Carl Fridh Kleberg.

"If it benefits the US, an agreement can be reached without any problems with the regime, regardless of its ideology or actions."

Trump's plan for regime change is a joke - who is he urging the Iranians to hand over power to? wonders Aftonbladet's Niclas Vent.

"Neither the US nor Israel will deploy ground troops, and there is no alternative source of armed authority in Iran other than the regime."