Journalist and political analyst Robert Kagan believes the conflict with Iran has become Washington’s biggest strategic defeat — one that can no longer be repaired or pushed out of the agenda.

In a column for The Atlantic, Kagan argues that the consequences of the current crisis may prove more severe than the attack on Pearl Harbor and the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Those earlier setbacks, he says, were painful and costly, but their strategic damage remained limited. With Iran, he sees a different kind of defeat — one that could reshape the global balance of power.

Kagan maintains that the United States can no longer offset the loss or pretend it did not happen. In his view, the Strait of Hormuz will remain under Iran’s control, while China and Russia are likely to strengthen their positions. At the same time, trust in Washington among its allies and partners will drop sharply.

The conflict, according to Kagan, has made the United States look unreliable and unable to finish what it starts, setting off a chain reaction across the world.

The United States and Israel began striking targets in Iran on February 28. More than 3,000 people were killed as a result of the aggression. On April 8, Washington and Tehran announced a ceasefire, but later talks in Islamabad produced no result. No new fighting has been reported since then. The United States, however, has moved to blockade Iranian ports.