Trump rolls the dice in Iran

US President Donald Trump’s handling of the Iran crisis and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz underlines an old lesson: force without planning, consultation and legitimacy rarely ends well.

The Iran war in context

At the early stages of many conflicts, there is often hope that the crisis can be contained quickly. However, conflicts such as the Iraq War, the Syrian Civil War, and the Yemeni Civil War illustrate how confrontations initially perceived as limited can expand as regional and international actors become involved.

The latest battle in a long war

It may seem that the US and Iran are currently embarking on yet another forever war but the truth is that this is just the latest instalment of an undeclared military conflict between the two nations since the Islamic revolution overthrew the Shah in the late 1970s.