Trump Signals End to US-Iran War, Analysts Warn It's Premature

US President Donald Trump’s assertion that the war with Iran “will soon end” does not necessarily reflect reality, according to analysts. Gadjah Mada University’s Professor of Middle Eastern Geopolitics Siti Muti’ah Setyawati contends that the claim is based primarily on assumptions regarding the effectiveness of US strikes against several strategic targets in Iran.

Moreover, the US military, in cooperation with Israel, has been able to target Iran’s supreme leader at the time, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in late February 2026 in Tehran. The US-Iran air campaign has also resulted in civilian casualties amongst Iran’s population.

“Trump’s statement that the war will end is based on the destruction on Iran’s side that America is targeting, such as the government complex in Tehran that resulted in Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian officials dying. Then, the destruction of schools, which killed students,” Prof Siti Muti’ah told Republika on Wednesday (11/3/2026).

Indeed, she continued, the US appears increasingly confident in its assault on the Islamic Republic. Washington feels the wind at its back, particularly since Britain has allowed its military bases in West Asia to be used in operations against Iran. The deployment of B-52 bombers has further supported the strikes on more than 1,700 targets across Iran within the first 72 hours of Operation Epic Fury.