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Trump cannot win Iran war on battlefield or at table: Jeffrey Sachs
Published : Saturday, 14 November, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Observer Online Report
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Prominent American economist and Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs has stated that US President Donald Trump cannot win the ongoing war involving Iran, the United States, and Israel either on the battlefield or through a formal diplomatic agreement.
In an interview with Mehr News Agency, Sachs explained that the primary obstacle to a political settlement is that Washington, and Trump in particular, do not want to appear "weak." He reiterated his long-standing call to end the fighting without any formal pact, noting that Trump recently hinted at this direction by stating no agreement is needed and that JD Vance should stop negotiating.
Sachs argued that the US should quietly lift its naval blockade de facto and withdraw from the region, which would halt the destruction, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and allow Trump to claim whatever narrative he chooses. Although Washington is unlikely to lift economic sanctions soon, he noted Iran will continue trading with other global partners much like Russia.
Addressing the deep mistrust following Washington's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, Sachs expressed doubt that a new diplomatic framework is achievable until there is a new US president, a starkly different Israeli government, and a shift in the American political class. While US voters want immediate peace, politicians remain afraid of losing face—though he viewed the election of more peace and international law advocates to the new US Congress as a sign of progress.
Sachs also strongly criticized the UN Security Council, accusing US-aligned states of condemning Iran rather than the US and Israel, and urged BRICS nations to defend Article 2(4) of the UN Charter against the use of force. Arguing that Washington and Israel stoked Middle Eastern divisions through a British-style "divide and conquer" strategy, he called on Persian Gulf states and Iran to build an independent regional security architecture free from external powers.
Describing the US as a classic overextended empire whose pursuit of global hegemony has cost trillions of dollars, raised living costs and interest rates, and triggered a "lose-lose-lose" war with global economic pain, Sachs also faulted European leaders for lacking strategic insight. He stated that Britain and France still behave as if it were 1920, while Europe remains divided across nearly 28 foreign policies and trapped in an irrational panic over Russia rather than acknowledging the role of NATO expansionism in the Ukraine conflict.
-EM
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, 01550707296
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Online-email: [email protected]
