‘Iran War May Continue For Another Six Months’: Ex-Defence Secretary Panetta Warns Trump

Former US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has warned that President Donald Trump's war with Iran could continue for another six months, saying the conflict risks turning into another prolonged “forever war” in the Middle East.

Panetta told The Guardian that the US and Iran remain locked in a stalemate, with few options available to bring the conflict to an end. He said the war could become another failed Middle East conflict, similar to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I think the likelihood is this war is going to continue for another six months without being resolved,” Panetta said to Guardian. Panetta spoke days after US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll abruptly resigned amid reported tensions with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over a series of firings.

Panetta, who served as Defence Secretary from 2011 to 2013 and CIA director under Barack Obama, said US service members were going to war amid “tremendous turmoil” at the Pentagon and within the command structure.

He argued that the situation could create a perception that there was nobody in charge, adding that US adversaries could interpret the turmoil as a sign of weakness in Washington's ability to use its military capabilities effectively.

Panetta said his biggest concern was that the US was sending a message of weakness to its main adversaries, including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, as well as terrorist groups. The Pentagon rejected Panetta's assessment, insisting that the department was functioning effectively under Hegseth's leadership.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell called the claim that the department was in disarray “completely baseless” and said it was an insult to military personnel and professionals working to defend the US. Panetta said Trump remains trapped between difficult choices over the conflict, a position he had highlighted earlier this year.

According to Panetta, Trump now has three options. The first is to walk away and acknowledge that the war has failed, something Panetta said he finds difficult to imagine Trump doing. The second is to allow the current stalemate to continue, with periodic tit-for-tat attacks while both sides avoid a wider conflict and refuse to negotiate or surrender.

Panetta warned that this could result in another prolonged war in the Middle East. The third option, he said, would be for the US to take control of the Strait of Hormuz and remove what he described as Iran's key leverage over Washington—the ability to disrupt the vital global trade chokepoint.

“So the president either steps up and does what's necessary to open up the strait of Hormuz, or ... he just continues to play ... this game of pretending that somehow he's winning a stalemate when the fact is he's not,” Panetta said.

Asked whether he believed the conflict was winnable for the US, Panetta said it would require a “dramatic change” in Washington's approach. He argued that the US would need to make reopening the Strait of Hormuz its primary objective.