The Middle East will not return to what it was – nor will America’s assumptions about power and restraint. As Washington prepares to wind down its war with Iran, this conflict is destined to be remembered as an unfinished war – one that strained U.S. power, hardened Iranian resolve, and redrew the region’s threat map in ways neither side fully foresaw.

Before the war, Tehran operated with calibrated restraint. It avoided direct confrontation, relied on proxies, and kept provocations largely confined to military targets. America’s intervention shattered that equilibrium. Iran’s forceful response did more than absorb U.S. pressure – it erased psychological redlines that Washington had treated as immutable. This was not another........

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