News Wrap: Friday marks 6 months since Iran war started

# Why This Matters The six-month duration of U.S.-Israel military operations against Iran represents a significant miscalculation in conflict forecasting that carries substantial geopolitical consequences. When senior officials predicted a swift resolution, they underestimated both Iran's capacity to sustain operations and the structural complexity of regional tensions, resulting in extended military expenditures, ongoing risk to coalition forces, and sustained disruption to global energy markets and shipping routes. The prolonged engagement also signals to other state and non-state actors that American military timelines are unreliable, potentially emboldening adversaries while complicating alliance coordination and domestic political support for sustained operations. Most critically, each month of continuation increases the likelihood of miscalculation or escalation that could widen the conflict beyond current parameters, making the gap between prediction and reality not merely an embarrassment but a strategic vulnerability with consequences extending far beyond the Middle East.