In every conflict, the calendar is as consequential as the cannon. The war that has consumed the Gulf between the United States, Israel and Iran is no exception. Beyond their primary adversaries, each of the three protagonists is battling time. Each is operating on a different political clock, facing a unique and potentially lethal deadline.Washington: The midterm clockIn January 2025, Donald Trump returned to office with a philosophy of rapid-fire diplomacy, prioritising the art of the deal over the machinery of war. He dispatched Steve Witkoff to Oman and set a 60-day deadline. He genuinely believed that a sharp, decisive shock to Iran’s leadership would produce regime collapse within days, an expectation apparently reinforced by the Mossad and Netanyahu. It did not.When that quick victory failed to materialise, the US found itself in a war of attrition in which time is on Iran’s side. Professor John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago was blunt: “Trump committed a colossal blunder.” The problem is structural: Iran holds substantial leverage over the global economy through the Strait of Hormuz and its continued ability to penetrate Gulf states’ and Israeli air defences, leaving the US with no clear exit strategy.The domestic political cost is already severe. US crude oil jumped past $90 per barrel, up fro …
