Are they though? For someone as callous as Trump, wouldn’t letting a few missiles through help bolster the case for more destruction from the US? It’s not like Iran can hit the US mainland, and if they manage to get a major hit on either Israel or a military base, it gives justification for escalation. They’ve also managed to pull countries like the UK in as a result of being targeted in the response attack. The only real threat to the mainland would be terrorism, which again, he is depraved enough to want.
In a normal world, losing defensive capabilities would absolutely matter when planning a war, but in bizarro world ‘more people will probably die, but we got a good deal.’
I don’t disagree with what you’re saying, I just believe this administration has become so unhinged that that sort of logic no longer matters. I think he wants to drop a nuke. I also think that as he continues to lose it, the more depraved members of his admin as well as other countries are finally able to push him over the edge and there aren’t any generals left to stop him from escalating until it gets to that point. That was his last chance to get a peace prize and afterwards he specifically said he no longer felt constrained to peace. The ultimate narcissistic injury response.