Jul 21, 2026 – 9.00amPresident Donald Trump’s foreign policy legacy is likely to be defined by Iran. Right now, it’s not looking good. The war has restarted. But America does not have a plausible plan for victory.The US national security establishment is already defining down what success might mean. At last week’s meeting of the Aspen Security Forum, Mark Esper, who was defence secretary in Trump’s first term, argued that the US could be satisfied with the achievement of two main goals.Financial TimesSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles