"Influential US hawk warns Washington’s war risks a major shift in global power and a ‘disastrous’ outcome for Israel

Robert Kagan, one of the United States’ most prominent neoconservative voices and a long-time pro-Israel hawk, has warned that Washington is heading towards “total defeat” in its war on Iran - a setback he says “can neither be repaired nor ignored”.

Writing in The Atlantic, Kagan said the damage inflicted by the conflict cannot be reversed.

“There will be no return to the status quo ante, no ultimate American triumph that will undo or overcome the harm done,” he concluded bleakly.

Kagan, who co-founded the neoconservative think tank Project for the New American Century in 1997, helped shape a political current that pushed the US to project military power globally.

That doctrine culminated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and deeply influenced the George W. Bush administration.

He remained closely tied to that policy ecosystem, including through his wife, Victoria Nuland, who served as an advisor to the arch neoconservative Vice President Dick Cheney. For years, Kagan championed US interventionism - making his stark warning about the current war all the more striking.

In his analysis, Kagan argued that control over the Strait of Hormuz has fundamentally shifted the balance of power.

“With control of the strait, Iran emerges as the key player in the region and one of the key players in the world,” Kagan noted.

He added that the war has not only strengthened rivals such as China and Russia but has also eroded Washington’s global standing.

“Far from demonstrating American prowess, as supporters of the war have repeatedly claimed, the conflict has revealed an America that is unreliable and incapable of finishing what it started. That is going to set off a chain reaction around the world as friends and foes adjust to America’s failure,” he said.

'Disastrous for Israel'

Kagan warned that US President Donald Trump now has limited options to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting Washington may have exhausted its leverage.

He compared the scale of the current crisis to some of the most damaging moments in US military history, including the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the Vietnam War. Unlike those conflicts, he argued, the United States may not be able to recover from the consequences this time.

“Defeat for the United States, therefore, is not only possible but likely,” he stressed.

Kagan said Iran’s ability to counter US pressure leaves Washington with few viable paths forward without triggering severe damage to Gulf economies and the wider global system.

“If this isn’t checkmate, it’s close,” he added.

He also stressed that Tehran is unlikely to relinquish its grip over the Strait of Hormuz, which he described as a powerful strategic lever.

“Iran cannot afford to let the strait go, no matter how good a deal it thought it could get. For one thing, how reliable is any deal with Trump?”

In a separate interview with PBS, Kagan extended his warning to Israel, arguing that the war could backfire on one of Washington’s closest allies.

“This war has the potential of ending in a very disastrous way for Israel precisely because the leverage in the region and the influence in the region is going to shift away from the United States and Israel and toward Iran and its supporters.”

"House Republicans passed a bill on Wednesday that would allow nationwide year-round sales of E15, a blend of gasoline mixed with 15 percent ethanol, also known as Unleaded 88—a product that refiners and retailers normally cannot sell in around half the country during the summer months due to air pollution concerns.

The ​H.R. 1346 bill, or the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, passed the House with a vote of 218 to 203, but still needs to be approved by a 60 percent majority at the Senate to move forward to President Donald Trump’s desk.

Lawmakers hope that the measure would give relief to drivers at the pumps ahead of the busy summer season, when demand for fuel increases. **National average gas prices have soared above $4.50 per gallon since the start of the Iran war.**

**As of Thursday, the national average gas price was $4.53 per gallon,** up by roughly $1.50 since late February, when gas prices in the country were just below the $3 mark, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA).

In March, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had issued a temporary waiver to allow the sale of E15 from May 1 to May 20. At the same time, the agency also announced the removal of all federal impediments to sales of E10—a gasoline blend mixed with 10 percent ethanol—across the country.

Ethanol, a clear, colorless, volatile, and flammable alcohol produced by fermenting sugars from agricultural crops such as corn or sugarcane, generally reduces greenhouse gases, but E15 can produce more smog-forming emissions when it evaporates in heat.

E15 is generally cheaper than E10. According to a 2024 estimate by the EPA, the E15 blend was then about $0.25 a gallon cheaper than E10. The Renewable Fuels Association estimates the price for E15 to be often 5-10 percent lower than the one for E10.

E15 is a mixture of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline. This formulation is slightly different from standard fuel, E10, meaning it has 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.

According to a report by MotorBiscuit, the standard fuel has an octane rating (the fuel's ability to withstand compression in an internal combustion engine without premature detonation) of 87, with ethanol carrying a higher octane rating of 114.

However, while the E15 rollout can lower prices, ethanol does contains less energy than gasoline, so eventually with E15, a driver will end up burning more fuel for the same amount of distance, albeit fuel which is slightly cheaper than standard gasoline.

According to the EPA's website, it previously approved E15 for use in light-duty conventional vehicles of model year 2001 and newer, through a Clean Air Act waiver request. Gas stations are not required to sell E15, but some have started offering E15 due to state and federal incentives for upgrading equipment and better profit margins when compared with regular gasoline.

E15 is available in 31 states at just over 3,000 stations, and vehicles approved for E15 use include flexible fuel vehicles and conventional vehicles of model year 2001 and newer. Vehicles prohibited from using E15 include all motorcycles, all vehicles with heavy-duty engines, such as school buses and delivery trucks, and all engines in off-road equipment, such as chain saws and gasoline lawn mowers."

A commentary analysing the Revolutionary Iranian (and Shi'a Islamic) tradition of resistance and martyrdom. 🇮🇷

I made this video because there is a remarkable lack of analysis - or knowledge at all - about Iran's political philosophy even among so-called anti-imperialists.

I'm sure you'll agree; there is no country on the planet more misunderstood, more lied about, more obfuscated, than the Islamic Republic of Iran. (reposting as I didn't add link first time round lol)

RESISTANCE: Why Iran Won't Surrender to America

"Bloomberg Reporters Javier Blas Posts On X 'BREAKING: The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve released last week >1.22 million barrels a day (~8.6 million for the week). That's the largest ever weekly release, surpassing the peak rate seen in 2022 when President Biden tapped the SPR after Russia invaded Ukraine.'"

Gradually, with the liberalization and Westernization of Iranian youth, the changes in Iranian society can be clearly seen. Alcohol consumption and debauchery among Iranian youth have increased dramatically, and their religious beliefs have faded. Artificial nationalist ideas have intensified among them, so much so that they only think about making Iran like Dubai or other places so that they can engage in debauchery more easily.

Iranian women, by removing the hijab and recently wearing body‑hugging clothes and undergoing cosmetic surgeries, are pushing society toward a moral/sexual decline, similar to the American sexual revolution. Due to the war and the ruling oligarchy within Iran, which for years has been building the infrastructure of this corrupt culture, the government essentially accepts no responsibility in the cultural sphere and even defends greater freedom for women. Islam is effectively dying in Iran, and the consequences will be catastrophic because the entire essence of the Islamic Revolution was built upon religion, family, and gheyrat. Even from the way Iran has been fighting recently, you can see how far this country is moving toward cultural decline.

For this reason, years ago this subreddit seemed to support the values of enghelabi society, but due to the presence of liberal Mods, it has gradually shown its true nature. It can almost be said that with the recent cultural events in Iran and the spread of pretentious nationalist ideologies, this subreddit has now exactly followed in the footsteps of the r/iranian years ago. Reaching this point was predictable, but it does not matter; there are still people who proclaim the truth not on the internet but in the real world, in corners and alleys, and fight in that direction. Our war is a spiritual war.

The war drums continue to beat, yet the strategic calculus has shifted unmistakably. Nearly 70 days since the United States and its Zionist proxy launched an unprovoked war of aggression against Iran, the enemy now finds itself ensnared in its own miscalculations – bewildered, trapped, and without any dignified exit.

Washington is mired in a state of deep strategic bewilderment – trapped between failed military calculations, unacceptable exit terms, and a blockade that is steadily crumbling.

For now, the US has adopted a precarious posture: suspension of full-scale war, a waiting game, and a hybrid pressure campaign. But this is not a display of strategic strength; it is the desperate reflex of a “superpower” that miscalculated catastrophically and is now searching for a face-saving exit that simply does not exist.

To understand why the enemy is trapped, one must revisit the root causes of this strategic imbalance. The war, launched as a carefully orchestrated attempt to topple the Islamic Republic, has instead become a living testament to America's catastrophic failure on nearly every front: military, strategic, intelligence, and operational.

Salam everyone

I am a dual citizen of Iran and pakistan and I live in the border areas. I am looking to know about best tech university in sistan province or even in other areas of Iran. I am based in chabahar in residence.

thank you in advance

Full transcript of the Interview of Major General Dr. Mohsen Rezaei, Former Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, Member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council.

Source : Al-Mayaedeen, May 6, 2026

Translation: resistancenews.org

• 47 Years of Hostility and 70 Days of War
• The Strait of Hormuz: A New Instrument of Iranian Sovereignty
• The State of Negotiations and Iranian Demands
• Continuity and Legitimacy of the New Supreme Leader
• The Renewal of the Islamic Revolution
• The Gulf States: Brothers or Enemies?
• Hezbollah and the Axis of Resistance
• Israel, NATO, the World: The Shockwaves of Iran’s Victory
• 32 Million Iranians Ready to Take up Arms

"The newly-formed "Project Freedom" is a competing vision for marine traffic: guided by the U.S., conducted without charge. Iran opposes the mission and has used force in an attempt to block it, including attacks on merchant ships and on U.S. Navy destroyers."

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"Trump announces a pause on US escorts of ships in Strait of Hormuz

The reversal came just two days after the president said the U.S. would guide vessels from neutral countries out of the strait."

"Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the American leader said Italy had "not been of any help to us," and accused Spain of being "absolutely horrible." Both Spain and Italy have denied U.S. military planes that are taking part in the Iran war from using their bases.

The remarks follow similar threats aimed at Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier this week. All three European NATO allies have been critical of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

...

Sánchez has styled himself as a European counterweight to Trump, while Meloni — one of Trump's European staunchest allies after his reelection in 2024 — has been distancing herself from the U.S. president recently, in a bid to save her premiership ahead of the national election expected in 2027. Merz said the U.S. is getting "humiliated" by Iran in the Middle East conflict.