The first surprising thing about President Trump’s impending defeat in the 2026 Iran war is that he already fought and won a successful war against Iran last year. In June 2025, U.S. and Israeli airstrikes badly damaged the Iranian nuclear program in 12 days of bombardment. Exactly how badly remains controversial . But they didn’t do nothing . If Trump had quit while ahead, he could have banked his gains from last August as a solid if imperfect win. The second surprising thing about Trump’s