[Anchor]

Six months have passed since the war between the United States and Iran began, yet no exit in sight. With projections emerging that the conflict could drag into next year, the burden on the U.S. appears to be growing.

As discussions surrounding South Korea dispatching troops become more concrete, Washington correspondent Jeon Byeong-nam reports on the current situation of the war with Iran.

[Reporter]

On September 2 local time, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which was deployed to the war with Iran, arrived at the Port of Laem Chabang in Thailand after completing a prolonged 286-day deployment.

The hull was severely rusted and covered in algae, with rust streaks running down parts of the flight deck.

A U.S. media outlet reported that it looked like it had been through Hellbound.

Despite such depletion of military assets, the war with Iran remains deadlocked.

Beginning with airstrikes on mine launchers on August 30 local time, the U.S. has attacked more than 100 military targets inside Iran and destroyed Iranian oil tankers.

Iran retaliated by attacking U.S. military bases in Jordan and Iraq using ballistic missiles and drones.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance held a press conference at the White House, stating that the situation arose because Iran attacked commercial vessels and that the U.S. will not hold talks with Iran under these circumstances.

[JD Vance / U.S. Vice President: The United States is not talking to Iran, and we will not talk to Iran until they stop attacking commercial vessels.]

When asked whether the war with Iran could be concluded before the midterm elections in November, he failed to provide a clear answer.

Projections in the U.S. continue to suggest that the war may extend beyond the end of the year.

It has already been reported that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has entered procedures to extend the deployment of the 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East, and reports have also emerged that resignation is spreading within the Republican Party that it will be difficult to end the war with Iran before the November midterms.

The timeframe initially guaranteed by President Trump at the beginning of the war was a maximum of six weeks.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President (March 9): (The war) will end very quickly. Look, everything is gone, including the Iranian leadership.]

However, even now, six months later, an exit has not been found, and assessments are being raised that it is difficult to sustain the war alone, with missile stockpiles also declining to dangerous levels.

As a result, analyses suggest that pressure demanding troop deployments from allies such as South Korea is intensifying further.

(Photo courtesy of Park Eun-ha | Video by Kim Ho-jin | Graphics by Lee Ga-jin)