Gerard Baker, editor-at-large of The Wall Street Journal, on Monday pointed to what he called an “unsettling reality” of life under Donald Trump right now, as conflicting claims about the Iran war emerge from the U.S. president and Tehran.

After Trump’s claim that “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East” were underway was denied by Iranian state media, Baker wrote on X:

“The unsettling reality is that with this president, Americans in wartime are in the unprecedented position of having to suspect that the enemy’s version of events is more likely to be true than our own.”

“We have become Baghdad Bob,” Baker added, referencing Saddam Hussein’s infamous spokesperson Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, whose notorious spin during the 2003 U.S. invasion earned him the mocking nickname.

The unsettling reality is that with this president, Americans in wartime are in the unprecedented position of having to suspect that the enemy’s version of events is more likely to be true than our own. We have become Baghdad Bob. https://t.co/178YmCgXwn

Baker’s remarks came as the war ― on which Trump has sent multiple mixed messages regarding the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, objectives, timeline of ending and more ― entered its fourth week.

In Iran, some 1,500 people are reported to have been killed and more than 18,500 injured. Thirteen U.S. service members have died.

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