# ‘No way out’: How Trump trapped US in Iran war as world stands by

An episode of [Iran: The Latest](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1712903296), 21 Aug 2026, 42 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6583019ebbd71a00175001c8/e/6a887a1e49367c27e2ef14ae/media.mp3

‘If there were a university delivering degrees in strategic malpractice, Donald Trump would without a doubt graduate summa cum laude.’ On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Roland Oliphant gets a damning assessment of the US-Iran war from one of America’s most seasoned Middle East diplomats, Aaron David Miller. A former State Department analyst and negotiator across six Republican and Democratic administrations and now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Miller delivers a blunt verdict on Washington’s strategic failures. As the Middle East conflict hits the six-month mark and the Strait of Hormuz remains officially closed, he explains why he can see no clear exit options for Trump. Despite Washington unleashing an "economic D-Day" and the "toughest sanctions in history," Tehran shows no sign of backing down. Plus, why Secretary of State Marco Rubio is MIA and how a “serious retrenchment” of US forces in the Gulf is likely, amid news that some bases may not be fully rebuilt after the war. Highlights • ‘Trump would graduate summa cum laude in strategic malpractice' • Veteran US diplomat Aaron David Miller on the US-Iran war CONTRIBUTORS: Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant Aaron David Miller, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace @aarondmiller2 WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026 Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026 Nominated Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026 The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026 Audio Producer: David Dargahi Video Producer: Max Bower Researcher and Social Producer: Anna Hindmarsh Studio Operator: Andy Watson Executive Producer: Venetia Rainey ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor ► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk ► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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