Trump faces Iran war pressure six months in

US President Donald Trump is facing falling approval ratings and criticism over the Iran war six months after the United States and Israel went to war with Tehran.

Pentagon figures cited by AFP put US military losses at at least 18 service members killed and more than 750 wounded. Thousands more have died in Iran and Lebanon.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on August 14-17 found Trump's approval rating had fallen to 33 percent, the lowest of his current term. AFP said other major surveys also showed him deep in negative territory.

At an impromptu White House press conference last week, Trump spent much of a 36-minute event discussing renovations, including a helipad, ballroom and paving stones. Asked about Iran, he replied: “Right now, the situation is so good.”

Trump declared “total and complete victory” in an April telephone interview with AFP after the announcement of a ceasefire. The truce later collapsed, and Iran has refused to bow to US pressure.

William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told AFP he did not think Trump had a clear solution. Garret Martin, a foreign policy expert at American University, said Trump had expected a rapid show of force but was now in a position where “there is no easy exit”.

The war has also become an economic issue in the United States. Gasoline prices have risen above $4 per gallon since the start of the war, compared with a national average of $3.14 a year earlier.

Joe Plenzler, a US Marine veteran of 20 years, told AFP he thought the war was unnecessary and “going very badly”. Analysts said dissatisfaction with the war could threaten Republican control of Congress in November's midterm elections.