Exclusive: Jeffrey Sachs says US should go home from West Asia, says military option against Iran has failed

Economist and Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs has said the United States should withdraw from the West Asia conflict, arguing that Washington has failed to achieve its military objectives against Iran and should end its involvement immediately.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, Sachs said the current conflict had reached a point where military escalation would not deliver the outcome sought by the United States and Israel.

“We’re very close to a resolution, if the United States will face reality,” Sachs said.
According to Sachs, the US and Israel initially believed that military action would quickly weaken the Iranian regime, but events unfolded differently after the first strikes in February.

“The United States cannot win militarily, and Iran is not going to surrender unilaterally,” he said, describing the situation as an intolerable impasse that has already disrupted global energy supplies and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

Sachs argued that Washington should abandon attempts to secure strategic gains through force and instead disengage from the region.

“The United States should just go home. It tried something, it failed, and it should leave,” he said.

He was sharply critical of President Donald Trump’s handling of the crisis, saying the White House had pursued unrealistic demands that Iran would never accept.

Sachs said Trump had “tied himself in knots” over negotiations and had relied on political loyalists rather than experienced diplomats to address a highly technical nuclear dispute.

To his mind, the nuclear issue should temporarily be set aside while efforts focus on reducing tensions and reopening trade and energy routes.

“This whole nuclear issue should just be put aside until next year. The strait should be reopened. Oil prices should come back down. The world should breathe again,” Sachs said.

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He also warned against renewed military confrontation, saying further escalation could inflict severe damage on regional infrastructure, including oil and gas assets, desalination facilities and ports.

“There is no military option,” Sachs said. “If there were, the United States would have taken it.”

Sachs maintained that any further conflict would hurt not only the region but also the US economy and political establishment. He pointed to falling public support for the Trump administration and growing domestic fatigue with overseas conflicts.

His advice to the US President was direct: “Stop the wars, go home, pay attention to our own country.”

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