Big Defeat to Big Lies: Trump Peddles Iran 'Discord' Fiction to Mask US Military, Strategic Failures
Thursday, 23 April 2026 1:02 PM
By Press TV Strategic Analysis
After 40 days of failed military adventure against the Islamic Republic of Iran, followed by the diplomatic debacle in Islamabad with Iran calling the shots, a new reality is settling over the region, one that Washington is desperately trying to obscure.
The US war machine not only failed to achieve its stated objectives – a widely acknowledged reality – but it also suffered its most significant military and strategic defeat in decades.
And now, unable to accept that reality, it has fallen back on its oldest weapon: the "big lie."
A defeat on two fronts
The first battlefield was military, as Americans were eager to reveal their much-hyped “military card,” bragging about being the “most powerful military in the world.”
For over a month, the United States – backed by its most advanced naval assets, air power, and the full weight of its global and regional alliances – attempted to pressure the Iranian nation into submission or retreat.
The result: A humiliating defeat that quickly revealed the limits of much-hyped American power. From the strategic waters of the Persian Gulf to the skies over Yemen and Lebanon, Iran and its allies in the Axis of Resistance not only held their ground but dictated the terms of engagement, forcing the aggressors to plead for a ceasefire.
By the time the guns fell silent, it was Washington, not Tehran, that was begging for a ceasefire – not once, but twice. The first request came immediately after the imposed war had completed 40 days, when Washington agreed to Iran’s ten-point proposal.
The second came as a unilateral extension earlier this week, wrapped in the language of magnanimity but born of necessity. It was not a sign of goodwill. It was a strategic retreat.
The negotiating table has proven no kinder to the United States. Time and again, American officials have sought to frame the post-war dynamic as one requiring Iranian concessions: excessive limits on the missile program, the removal of enriched uranium, and the dismantling of ties with the resistance front.
Yet every single one of these demands has been met with Iranian steadfastness – backed overwhelmingly by public opinion. A latest poll conducted by Iran's IRIB Research Center found an overwhelming majority of Iranians reject each of these core American conditions.
The survey, conducted during and after the war, revealed that 85.7 percent of respondents said Iran should not accept restrictions on its missile industry, while 82.6 percent opposed the removal of 400 kilograms of enriched uranium from the country.
Also, 79.4 percent of people rejected shutting down uranium enrichment as a US condition.
Public opposition extends to core issues of sovereignty and regional strategy as well. The poll showed that 73.7 percent of Iranians said the country should not accept unrestricted passage of ships through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and 68.1 percent opposed severing cooperation with the Resistance Front.
With this level of popular support, the Iranian side – which clearly holds the upper hand – has no reason to offer any concessions. The opposing side has won nothing: not on land, not at sea, not at the table. And in the end, it is always the winner who takes it all.
The manufactured "internal disagreement"
Having lost all military and strategic leverage, Washington has now – quite unsurprisingly and predictably – resorted to its trademark practice: the fabrication of lies. In this context, that means peddling the so-called "internal discord" within Iran's leadership.
The narrative being pushed by American policy wonks suggests that senior Iranian figures are divided over the future of negotiations and the continuation of the imposed war.
But this is not intelligence. It is not journalism. It is propaganda straight from the Goebbels playbook: repeat a lie loudly enough, and public opinion will eventually accept it as truth.
The claim is demonstrably false. Iran's silence in the face of repeated enemy overtures is not a sign of weakness or infighting. On the contrary, it is a calculated strategic posture.
For decades, the United States operated on a comfortable assumption: that Iran's reactions were predictable – a known diplomatic rhythm that could be anticipated and exploited.
That era is now over. Iran has entered a new phase of asymmetrical engagement with the enemy, one defined by unpredictability, strategic patience, and an absolute refusal to be read before entering the room. This very element of unpredictability has left the enemy bewildered, and it’s no longer a secret.
And that bewilderment is palpable. When the US Secretary of the Navy resigns in the midst of a naval confrontation – the most expensive and strategically vital branch of the entire American military – it signals something far deeper than routine political turnover.
It signals a deep and irreparable fracture at the very heart of the US decision-making apparatus. More than that, it points to a rotten system that is imploding from within.
Strategic silence as a weapon
Perhaps nothing has unnerved Washington more than Iran's "silence" regarding reports of the next round of negotiations in Islamabad. By refusing to engage with the enemy's narrative, Iran has denied the US the very thing it needs most: a predictable opponent.
Every American strategy – whether war plan or diplomatic overture – was built on decades of familiarity with Iranian behavior. That familiarity is now worthless.
The silence is not an absence of strategy. It is the strategy and Iran has mastered it.
If there remains any doubt about Iran's position, the Iranian people have settled it. The IRIB poll is not merely a dataset; it is a political document and a telling statement.
When 66 percent of Iranians believe their country is the decisive victor of the war, when 87.2 percent rate the performance of Iran's armed forces as strong or very strong, and – most crucially – when 57.7 percent believe the US needs a ceasefire more than Iran does, something profound has shifted.
These figures mark a staggering reversal of the familiar power dynamic. They spell out, in unmistakable terms, that a new dynamic is at work. The old rules no longer apply.
These numbers are not abstract. They come from a population that endured 40 days of airstrikes and bombings, which gave over 3,000 martyrs, and saw its homes destroyed.
And that same population has delivered a clear message to its leaders: do not compromise our dignity. Do not concede our rights. We prefer war over humiliation.
The biggest defeat in a generation
The United States has not lost a battle here or there. It has lost a major war. It has lost its strategic footing. It has lost the initiative. And now, stripped of all credible leverage, it has lost whatever was left of its standing at the global stage.
The fake news about internal Iranian disagreements is not a sign of American confidence. It is a symptom of American desperation after suffering significant losses.
For 40 days, the world watched as the most powerful military in history was held to a standstill. In the aftermath, that stalemate has hardened into a new strategic reality: Iran and the Axis of Resistance are more united than ever, Iran's hand is stronger than ever, and the US has nothing to show for its aggression except a string of resignations and recycled lies.
The big lie will not change the big defeat. And history will record everything.
