A defiant Iran leaves Trump with few options
WASHINGTON— More than 60 days after his war with Iran, well beyond the public deadlines he set for ending the war, President Trump Briefing from US Central Command outlines another set of options for a new round of strikes.
The proposals presented Thursday were unpalatable options for a president willing to back down from the conflict he started. Renewed U.S. strikes risk inflaming the war beyond Trump’s control and undermining the fragile ceasefire for which American allies have fought so hard. But the need for such a briefing showed what a difficult situation the president found himself in.
The legal deadline for congressional approval came Friday; This threatens to increase pressure on the administration and underscores waning support for the most unpopular US war of modern times. Spherical oil prices It remains above $100 a barrel as we enter midterm election season. A diplomatic breakthrough with Tehran is also not on the horizon.
Signs pointed to another US military buildup this week that could herald a new wave of conflict in the region. A US Defense official familiar with the matter said the US military used the weeks-long pause to resupply ammunition. So are the Iranians, who have reportedly stepped up efforts to dig up stockpiles of missiles and drones buried during US and Israeli attacks.
“Amateurs look at strategy, professionals look at logistics,” said Robert Pape, professor of international relations at the University of Chicago. “In February I saw greater build-up of forces (actual firepower and logistics with the addition of a third aircraft carrier) than we have seen since the beginning of the war. So there has been a significant change in the last week.”
The logistics surge appears to be an influx of Boeing C-17 military transport planes heading to the region, as well as a third aircraft carrier. When Trump first launched the war on February 28, only two carriers were available.
“That’s a pretty good sign that they’re taking action,” Pape added. “These are strategic and operational indicators. I guess they are expecting a sharp blow.”
More than 10,000 sailors from the expeditionary force are currently in the field, giving Trump the option of launching limited ground operations such as seizing a small coastline or launching an attack on Kharg Island, the center of Iran’s oil industry.
Invading Iranian territory could give the Trump administration an advantage in negotiations with Tehran. However, this would also bring with it significant domestic political risks. A clear majority of Americans, including many Republicans, oppose ground war.
More troops will be needed to protect the land for a long time, experts said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, told CNN: “I have the impression from some of the briefings and other sources I’ve received that an imminent military strike is on the table.”
We’re leaving Washington for the weekend. Trump told reporters He said a “very disjointed” Iranian government, internally torn over whether to strike a nuclear deal with the Americans, had “put his administration in a bad position”, unsure of who to negotiate with or whether any deal he might sign would be implemented.
“We have negotiations going on right now. They’re not getting there,” Trump said. “They want to make a deal, but I’m not happy with it. Let’s see what happens.”
But still, the longer the talks drag on, the more pain Americans can expect to feel as global energy and fertilizer prices continue to skyrocket due to disrupted commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, affecting the costs of pocket-sized items from food and fuel to airline tickets.
Trump hopes that new, short-term powerful attacks, potentially targeting Iran’s infrastructure, will force Iran’s hardliners to support a negotiated solution; It’s a gamble that could backfire after the war’s initial attacks silenced moderate voices in the government and strengthened the militant leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Do we want to go blow them up and be done with it forever, or do we want to try to make a deal?” Trump asked the question while speaking to reporters on the South Lawn. “So those are the options.”
In a letter to Congress, Trump rejected the 60-day deadline for congressional authorization for war set out in the War Powers Act and claimed that the ceasefire with Iran had effectively stopped the clock on the administration’s legal responsibilities. Democrats argue that the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports constitutes an act of war that requires congressional approval absent a formal diplomatic agreement.
Speaking to reporters, Trump offered a less nuanced explanation.
“It was never used, it was never followed,” Trump said of the law. “Every other president thinks this is completely unconstitutional, and we agree with that.”
The internal debate over restarting the war comes after Pentagon officials told Congress this week that the conflict, called Operation Epic Fury, has cost taxpayers $25 billion so far.
The president’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defended the effort at a congressional hearing Wednesday, telling lawmakers that the United States was “absolutely” winning the war.
“From a military perspective,” Hegseth said, “there has been astonishing military success on the battlefield.”
He declined to say whether he advised the president to start the war in the first place.
