Trump's Penrose stairs in Iran

Summary. The war between Iran and the United States is sending shockwaves across the globe, again. This re-flaring up of hostilities means that the Islamabad MOU signed between the warring parties has collapsed, as President Trump himself said that the ceasefire between the two countries was no longer in effect. Since Trump has not been able to extract any tangible gains from this war, he seems caught up in a dilemma. Iran retains leverage through its ability to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz and all efforts to resolve the crisis through military means have failed. Now, whatever step Trump takes to solve one problem appears to be creating another. A CNN analyst, Stephen Collinson, describes the situation as a geopolitical version of the Penrose stairs — a staircase that seems to rise and fall endlessly yet always returns to the same place.