Trump declares ‘Mission Accomplished’ in Iran, as conflict drags on

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iran even as the unpopular and costly war drags on with no end in sight and no sign that the US is close to achieving any of the lofty goals he set for the conflict.

Trump posted an image of himself along with Iran’s slain former supreme leader Ali Khamenei against a stylised landscape background of punishing US air and missile attacks.

“Mission Accomplished 2026”, a caption reads.

The slogan evokes former president George W. Bush’s infamous premature declaration of “mission accomplished” in Iraq, a conflict that continued for years afterwards. Trump even includes a photo of Bush in the image with the caption “Mission not accomplished 2001-21”.

Democrats trashed Trump for what they called a tone-deaf “mission accomplished” claim with Senator Chuck Schumer calling the president “delusional” for saying he has won anything in the Iran fight.

“Trump started a war with no plan, no mission, and no idea of the consequences, like sky-high gas prices,” Schumer told the Daily News. “He’s made the world more dangerous, driven up our costs, and he’s put American lives at risk every step of the way.”