Bluster and backdown have turned Iran war into Trump’s own Groundhog Day

The US president's profound ignorance of his enemy has led to an impotent cycle of empty threats, analysts say

Being the subject of mockery may be the most intense of all Donald Trump's known aversions.

Yet more than five months after embarking on a war of choice against Iran, the US president risks attracting ridicule as he struggles to secure a military victory - while repeatedly threatening devastating bombardment against the Tehran regime, only to back down on the pretext of renewed negotiations.