Three weeks after the start of the war in Iran, Donald Trump still has no clear plan to overthrow the Iranian regime, writes The New York Times in a commentary.
It is becoming increasingly clear that Trump began the war without a clear strategy, the publication adds.
"Even for his more modest goal - to seize the country's enriched uranium - he offers no convincing ideas on how to do so", the NYT also writes. The criticism continues with the fact that the American president did not foresee the side effect of the war in the Middle East - problems with oil supplies, rising fuel prices and the deterioration of the global economy.
The publication notes that Trump was still right that the Iranian government was dangerous, that with its actions it crushed its own people, threatened its neighbors and continued to strive to create nuclear weapons.
However, Trump made the same mistake as others before him in Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, notes NYT. Air power almost never overthrows governments, only a ground operation can seize the instruments of power in the state and install a new leader, the authors of the material emphasize.
Russia has repeatedly expanded its support for Iran since the beginning of the attacks by the US and Israel, writes WSJ.
Sources of the publication say that Moscow provides up-to-date satellite data on the location of US troops in the Middle East, as well as navigation components for drones to increase their effectiveness.
In addition, Russia advises Iran tactically on the use of flying bombs, applying the experience gained on the battlefield in Ukraine. This includes information on how many drones should participate in an effective attack and at what altitude they should fly to be invulnerable to air defense.
It was with these instructions that Iran carried out effective strikes against radar equipment at US bases in the Gulf.
Although Russia and Iran are not officially in a military alliance, Moscow is one of the main suppliers of military equipment to Tehran, and the two countries regularly hold military exercises. In addition, Iran provided Russia with the "Shahed" attack drones for the war in Ukraine, which the Russians subsequently modified and began to produce in their own factories.
According to WSJ sources, the assistance that Russia provides to Iran is limited not only by the war in Ukraine, but also by Moscow's reluctance to annoy Donald Trump.
The publication notes that the country is benefiting from the conflict in the Middle East.
One of them is the reduction in the number of interceptor drones that Ukraine provided to countries in the Middle East for protection. The other effect is the increase in prices and the partial lifting of sanctions by the US on oil, from which Moscow finances its military budget for the front in Ukraine, notes the WSJ.