India, June 16 -- When US President Donald Trump attacked Iran on February 28, he outlined a set of goals - overthrow Iran's regime, end the country's nuclear programme, "raze its missile industry to the ground", "annihilate its navy", and curb its support for regional armed groups.

Many of Trump's original objectives remain unresolved, deferred to future negotiations or absent altogether from the Memorandum of Understanding agreed to by the US and Iran, going by reports on deal.

In fact, Trump's own stated objectives and goalposts shifted as the war progressed. Take for example the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which closed only as a result of the war and was open before the US-Israeli strikes. Also the need to eliminate Iran's st...