A Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee offered a stark assessment of the ongoing conflict with Iran on Wednesday, warning that the United States has become militarily “stalled” as the Trump administration searches for a path forward.
“Very clearly militarily, we are stalled,” Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., told Bloomberg in an interview. “There’s no question about that.”
Harrigan said the United States had accomplished some of its initial goals in the conflict but had since become trapped in a prolonged confrontation without a clear resolution in sight.
The North Carolina Republican argued that Washington could not continue relying on a limited military campaign while expecting to achieve much broader results.
“We have to stop fighting a limited war [indefinitely], thinking that we’re going to use limited conflict to achieve unlimited outcomes,” Harrigan said. “What we’re doing right now is irresponsible, and we need to make a decision.”
His warning came as the United States and Iran resumed exchanging attacks following a relative slowdown in the fighting during August.
Iran targeted merchant vessels over the weekend, leading the United States to launch strikes against sites belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Tehran has also fired missiles and drones at American bases throughout the region in recent days. The Iranian attacks included strikes targeting U.S. facilities in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.
The renewed hostilities have also affected global energy markets. Brent crude oil climbed more than 6% this week to approximately $95 per barrel, according to Bloomberg. U.S. diesel prices have meanwhile risen to their highest level in four years.
President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday that he does not believe the latest wave of military strikes will continue for “too long.”
At the same time, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is pursuing another economic pressure campaign against Tehran as the United States maintains its naval blockade.
The administration’s military and economic efforts come as formal negotiations with Iran remain unresolved.
A memorandum of understanding reached in June expired without resulting in a permanent agreement, leaving the two sides without a lasting diplomatic settlement as the conflict continues.
Harrigan’s comments highlighted growing concerns about the lack of a clear endgame after months of fighting. While acknowledging that the United States had met some of its original objectives, the Republican lawmaker said the country now faced a fundamental choice about the direction of the campaign.
His criticism centered on what he described as the mismatch between limited military action and the expansive outcomes Washington hopes to achieve.
The warning also arrived as the latest attacks placed fresh pressure on the Trump administration to determine how long the fighting should continue and what would constitute a successful conclusion.
Trump has suggested that the latest strikes will not last much longer, but the expired June memorandum has left negotiations unsettled. Meanwhile, the renewed exchange of attacks, rising energy prices, economic pressure campaign and ongoing naval blockade underscore the uncertainty surrounding the conflict.
For Harrigan, the situation demands a decision rather than an indefinite continuation of limited warfare without a defined path toward a permanent agreement.