The Iran War Is the Biggest Strategic Blunder in US History (w/ John Mearsheimer) | TCHR John Mearsheimer breaks down the current state of the Iran War, and how the conflict increasingly appears to look like the most dire strategic mistake in US history. Chris Hedges and John J. Mearsheimer Aug 29 President Trump Makes an Announcement and Signs Executive Order From the Oval Office WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 05: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (C) speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump announces plans to host the 2026 G20 summit in Miami, Florida during a press availability in the Oval Office of the White House on September 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump detailed his administration’s plans to host the 2026 Group of 20 summit of world leaders at his golf course and spa in Doral, Florida.  President Trump Meets with Visiting Israeli PM Netanyahu at the White House WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 07: U.S. President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the White House on April 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump is meeting with Netanyahu to discuss ongoing efforts to release Israeli hostages from Gaza and newly imposed U.S. tariffs.  Israel Launches Strikes Against Iran TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 13: The view from a living room of a residential building that was destroyed in an attack by Israel on June 13, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. Early this morning, Iran was hit by a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting military and nuclear sites, as well as top military officials.  Russians Celebrate 80th Anniversary of the Victory Day in Moscow MOSCOW, RUSSIA - MAY 9 (RUSSIA OUT) Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) talks to Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) as President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (R) looks on during the wreath laying ceremony to the Unknown Soldiers’ Tomb, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi’s Germany, May 9, 2025, in Moscow, Russia.  Iranian Revolution A group of men carrying arms and ammunitions raise their hands victoriously while driving around the city after having looted army garrisons in the late afternoon on the victory day of the Iranian Revolution in Tehran, Iran, 11th February 1979.  IRAN-US-ISRAEL-WAR-TRANSPORT-HORMUZ In this picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency and taken on May 2, 2026, the Gambia-flagged tanker vessel Bili is pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on May 4 denied that any commercial ships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz, after the US military earlier said two US-flagged merchant vessels had transited through the vital waterway.  First Inflation Report Of 2025 Released AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 12: The Labor Department is expected to report today on January prices as measured by the consumer-price index, with a separate report on wholesale prices delivered tomorrow.  US-POLITICS-TRUMP US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listen to questions from the press during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland, on July 31, 2026.  Senators Speak to the Press Following Policy Luncheons on Capitol Hill WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 24: Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks to reporters during the weekly luncheons at Capitol Hill on June 24, 2025, in Washington, DC. Secretary Bessent spoke on the current situation in the Middle East with Israel and Iran, along with the ongoing One Big Beautiful Bill Act in Congress.  U.S. Conducts Blockade Operations Near Strait of Hormuz ARABIAN SEA - APRIL 16:  USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) conducts U.S. blockade operations related to the Strait of Hormuz on April 16, 2026, in the Arabian Sea. The ship’s embarked carrier air wing includes eight F-35C stealth fighters, F/A-18 fighter jets, EA-18G electronic attack aircraft, E-2D command and control planes, MH-60 helicopters and CMV-22B Ospreys for logistics support.  QATAR-IRAN-ISRAEL-US-CONFLICT Smoke rises from an area in the direction of Al Udeid Air Base, which houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force and foreign forces including the US, in Doha on February 28, 2026, following a reported Iranian strike. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel’s public broadcaster reporting that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel.  ISRAEL-IRAN-CONFLICT The Israeli flag flutters in front of a destroyed building at the site of an Iranian missile attack in Ramat Gan in central Israel near Tel Aviv, on June 19, 2025. A hospital in southern Israel was hit during a barrage of “dozens” of Iranian missiles on June 19, officials said, while another impact was reported by emergency services in the Tel Aviv area. Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth Holds Pentagon Press Conference On Iran Strikes ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JUNE 26: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 26, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. Top officials from the Department of Defense gave an update after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the U.S. military last weekend and Iran countered by launching missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.  Israel-Iranian-Ballistic-Missile-June-23 Members of the Israeli security forces check the apparent remains of an Iranian ballistic missile lying on the ground on the outskirts of Qatzrin, Golan Heights, Israel, on Monday, June 23, 2025.  TOPSHOT-SKOREA-US-MILITARY-MISSILE05 TOPSHOT - A US Airforce OA-10 airplane passes near a Patriot PAC-2 missile system at the South Korean Air Force base in Suwon 18 September 2003. The United States is upgrading its missile defense capabilities in South Korea as part of an 11-billion-dollar plan to beef up its deterrence against North Korea.  U.S. President Trump Visits USS George Washington in Japan YOKOSUKA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 28: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reacts to a compliment by U.S. President Donald Trump as they arrive aboard USS George Washington at Fleet Activities Yokosuka on October 28, 2025, in Yokosuka, Japan. Trump is visiting Japan, fresh off an appearance at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia and will next travel to South Korea for the APEC meetings.  TOPSHOT-IRAQ-US-OILFIELDS-SMOKE-SOLDIERS TOPSHOT - U.S. soldiers from 1st Marine Expedition Force patrol a road as heavy black smoke from a burning oil well drifts past at the Rumaila Oilfields March 23, 2003, in Iraq. Several oil wells have been set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in the Rumaila area, the second largest offshore oilfield in the country, near the Kuwaiti border. US and British forces have requested Kuwaiti help to extinguish some oil wells in Iraq, torched as coalition forces advanced into the country, a Kuwaiti official said in remarks published 23 March.  IAEA Board of Governors Meets to Discuss Situation in Iran VIENNA, AUSTRIA - JUNE 23: Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrives for an IAEA Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters on June 23, 2025 in Vienna, Austria. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors is convening a meeting at the agency’s headquarters to discuss the situation in Iran, following strikes by the United States on June 22, which targeted nuclear facilities in Iran.  Israeli Head of Mossad David Barnea (Dadi) attends funeral HOLON, ISRAEL - 2025/05/12: Israeli Head of Mossad David Barnea (Dadi) attends the funeral of Sgt first class Zvi Feldman at the military cemetery. Hundreds gathered at the Holon military cemetery to pay their respects to Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman whose body was repatriated more than four decades after he went missing during the 1982 Israel Lebanon war. His remains were located in the heart of Syria during a special operation by the IDF in coordination with the Mossad intelligence agency.  Arab League Summit in Amman, Jordan on November 11, 1987. JORDAN - NOVEMBER 11: Saddam Hussein in Amman, Jordan on November 11, 1987.  SAUDI-YEMEN-CONFLICT-ENERGY-ARAMCO A damaged silo at the Saudi Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea city of Jeddah. - Yemen’s Huthi rebels launched a missile attack on the facility on November 23, triggering an explosion and a fire in a fuel tank, officials said.  Ukrainian Farmers Harvest New Wheat Crops Whilst War Blocks Exports MYRONIVKA, UKRAINE - JULY 29: A stork flies above a wheat field as a combine harvester of TVK Seed agricultural company harvests wheat on July 29, 2022 not far from Myronivka, Ukraine. Commodity exports from Ukraine, one of the world’s largest producers of wheat, corn and vegetable-oil, have been stalled since the Russian invasion on February 24 affected important port infrastructures.  UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT Journalists and residents stand as smoke rises after an attack by Russian army in Odessa, on April 3, 2022. - Air strikes rocked Ukraine’s strategic Black Sea port Odessa early Sunday morning, according to an interior ministry official, after Kyiv had warned that Russia was trying to consolidate its troops in the south.  UAE-IRAN-ISRAEL-US-WAR TOPSHOT - A plume of black smoke rises from an ongoing fire near fuel depots at the port of Fujairah in the gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 4, 2026. Iran’s strikes on Gulf neighbors since February 28, following the US-Israeli attack, forced the UAE to shut its airspace, blindsiding travelers who thought they were headed to one of the region’s safest holiday destinations. Recep Tayyip Erdogan - Benjamin Netanyahu meeting in New York NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 19: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) who is in New York for the 78th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) at the Turkish House in New York, United States on September 19, 2023.  ISRAEL-US-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT US President Joe Biden (L) listens to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he joins a meeting of the Israeli war cabinet in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.  ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT Israeli army battle tank at a position along the border with the Palestinian territory on March 19, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas.  A guest post by John J. Mearsheimer John J. Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1982. This interview is also available on podcast platforms and Rumble.