When will Trump be able to declare victory over Iran?

Published March 20, 2026 6:05am ET



Ten days into President Donald Trump’s war on Iran, his Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine trotted out a well-worn Pentagon aphorism: “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.”

Once the dogs of war are unleashed, it’s never entirely predictable how things will go, or possible to envision exactly how it will end.

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