According to the newspaper’s report, during the war, the United States adopted a military model based on long-range strikes, precision weapons, artificial intelligence, advanced aircraft, and aircraft carriers, in an attempt to achieve military goals while reducing direct human losses as much as possible.
During the first six months of the war, American forces carried out more than 13,000 strikes, and were able to destroy the Iranian air force and a large part of the Iranian naval forces, in addition to targeting prominent leaders of the regime and the Revolutionary Guard, and imposing a siege on the ports.
But this operational superiority, according to the Financial Times, did not turn into a decisive strategic victory, as extremist movements are still present within the Iranian authority, while the future of the Iranian nuclear program remains unclear, despite the damage it has sustained as a result of the American and Israeli strikes.
This comes in light of the faltering negotiations and the continued threat of shipping by Iran and its allies, in parallel with the rising toll of American losses. According to the newspaper, 18 American soldiers were killed and at least 624 others were injured since the outbreak of the war.
Also, 42 American aircraft were destroyed or damaged to varying degrees, including F-15 fighters, F-35 aircraft, and E-3 aircraft, in addition to more than 20 Reaper drones.
On the financial level, the cost of military operations amounted to about 37.5 billion dollars, while the US Department of Defense needs about 67 billion dollars to rebuild weapons stocks that declined to low levels as a result of large consumption during the war.
The economic repercussions were not limited to the military establishment, as the newspaper pointed to additional burdens affecting the Americans.
The chief economist at Moody’s Analytics estimated that the typical American family may bear a cost of about $1,000 as a result of military spending and high fuel prices.
Despite the size of the losses and the cost, the Financial Times believes that the war has not yet caused a broad popular reaction within the United States. Opinion polls indicate that the majority of Americans reject the war, but this position did not turn into widespread mass protests or a large wave of resignations within the military establishment.
In this context, the midterm elections scheduled for next November may constitute the most prominent political test of the repercussions of the war within the United States, as they will reveal whether voters will hold the Republicans accountable for the cost of the decision to start a confrontation with Iran.
Thus, the war puts Washington facing a complex military and political equation: a great superiority in the ability to direct strikes and inflict extensive damage on the opponent, in exchange for the difficulty of converting this superiority into a decisive political and strategic result, while the human, military and economic costs continue to accumulate.
