US Iran forever war risk examined after 13 nights of attacks
Al Jazeera’s UpFront says US strikes on Iran and Iranian attacks in the Gulf have raised the risk of a wider war.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
2 min read
Al Jazeera’s UpFront has put the risk of a US Iran forever war at the center of a new episode after reporting 13 nights of daily US attacks on Iran. The program said the strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including bridges, airports, electrical facilities and a desalination plant.
According to UpFront, Iran has answered by attacking US allies in the Gulf and striking civilian infrastructure there as well. The program said US President Donald Trump has threatened to escalate the attacks further, raising the possibility of broader Iranian retaliation and an all-out war.
The episode, published July 27, 2026, features host Marc Lamont Hill speaking with Ali Kadivar, an associate professor of sociology and international studies at Boston College. Their discussion focuses on what history suggests about the danger that the conflict could become open-ended.
Are the US and Iran heading toward a forever war?
UpFront frames the question around the expanding cycle of attacks and reprisals between the United States, Iran and US-aligned states in the Gulf. The program links the current risk to the long history between Washington and Tehran, asking how that background shapes the present conflict.
A “forever war” generally refers to a conflict with no clear end point, where escalation, retaliation and shifting military goals keep combat going for years. In the UpFront episode, the phrase is used to examine whether the current US-Iran confrontation could move from a series of strikes into a wider and more lasting war.
Al Jazeera said the US attacks took place over 13 nights and targeted civilian infrastructure inside Iran. It also said Iran’s response has extended the conflict beyond Iran’s borders by targeting US allies in the Gulf.
The reported involvement of Gulf allies gives the confrontation a wider regional dimension. If attacks continue to spread across civilian infrastructure in multiple countries, the risks identified by UpFront include broader retaliation by Iran and the possibility of full-scale war.
Kadivar’s role in the episode is to address the historical roots of the US-Iran relationship and what they may indicate about the current confrontation. Al Jazeera describes him as a sociologist and international studies scholar at Boston College.
The 25-minute episode is part of UpFront, Al Jazeera’s interview program hosted by Marc Lamont Hill. Its focus is the current conflict, the sequence of attacks described by the program and the question of whether the United States and Iran are moving toward a war without a clear exit.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.