Trump in tough spot as he tries to avoid deal that highlights US failures in Iran

Washington facing long economic war or risky military action to reopen strait of Hormuz - which may now be more valuable to Iran than a nuclear weapon

Donald Trump is learning first-hand about the perils of mission creep.

The US-Israel war in Iran has just passed its eighth week - twice as long as the president predicted it would take when US warplanes launched their joint attack with Israeli forces to decapitate the Iranian leadership and paralyse its military. The military attacks were successful. The predictions about the political cause-and-effect to follow were not.