US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has said President Donald Trump has “lost this war” with Iran, as the conflict continues to put pressure on the US administration.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, the Connecticut senator criticised Mr Trump’s handling of the conflict, arguing that the United States had become weaker while Iran had emerged stronger.
“Donald Trump has lost this war,” Mr Murphy said, according to reports of his remarks.
The senator said Washington now needed to find a way to bring the conflict to an end, even if that meant accepting what he described as a “bad deal”.
Mr Murphy argued that continued fighting was causing serious consequences for Americans, including rising economic pressures and the loss of US lives.
His comments come amid growing debate in Washington over the objectives and outcome of the conflict, with critics questioning whether the Trump administration has achieved its stated aims.
Mr Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been a vocal critic of the president’s Iran strategy and has repeatedly called for an end to the fighting.
The White House has not accepted Mr Murphy’s assessment that the US has lost the war, and the senator’s comments are likely to intensify the political debate over President Trump’s approach to the conflict.
