Mission in Iran war has pivoted toward ensuring oil flow, Trump official says | Trump administration
A Trump administration official on Sunday grappled with growing criticism over the length of the U.S. war with Iran after months of promised diplomatic breakthroughs, brief ceasefires and the death of two more American service members in Jordan, bringing the total number of American service members killed in combat to 16.
Appearing on ABC’s This Week, US energy secretary Chris Wright defended the Trump administration’s strategy after being confronted with earlier claims that the war, which began in February, would have been over by now.
Wright argued that the mission has since shifted to ensuring that oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We took a break to reach an agreement with the Iranian people that would allow the oil to flow without them attacking,” Wright said. “They proved unwilling to do that, and we backed down. What we’ve done now is, with or without Iranian cooperation, we’ve continued to ensure that oil, gas and other products move through the Strait of Hormuz, and we’ve continued to weaken their offensive military capabilities.”
On the same show, a prominent Democrat continued his party’s harsh criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the nearly five-month-old conflict.
US senator from Virginia, Mark Warner, described the conflict as a “war of choice” launched without an imminent threat and argued that the administration had failed to achieve its previously stated goals.
“Regime change, where are we there? We’re facing a worse crowd than before,” Warner said about Iran. He said the enriched uranium that the US wanted to get from Iran to prevent it from building a nuclear weapon is “still there”, adding: “Matter of fact, it would take a minimum of 15,000 troops on the ground for a week to try to take these canisters, which are quite volatile, out of their bunker.”
Warner also said, “As far as getting rid of Iran’s missile and drone capabilities — frankly, we haven’t been successful in that,” as the fighting continued Sunday. “For this war to continue at this rate, it will be a continuing disaster,” he said.
The latest losses of the US military in Iran occurred as the renewal of the operation against Iran entered its second week and led to the intensification of clashes around the Strait of Hormuz. The US launched retaliatory strikes against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) on Sunday following the killings.
Following the deaths of two US soldiers on Friday, Trump’s defense secretary Pete Hegseth vowed that military action in Iran would continue: don’t write on social media the soldiers’ “sacrifice only strengthens our resolve”.
Donald Trump also increased pressure on Iran on Sunday, with the president calling on Congress to include Iran in pending Russia sanctions legislation. The move would further weaken the memorandum of understanding between the two countries aimed at resolving the Iran dispute in June, which included an agreement to end sanctions on Iran.
It refers to the unexpected death of US senator Lindsey Graham and his ally Trump on July 11 wrote On the Truth Social platform, “Republicans should add Iran to the Russia Sanctions Bill. This is what Lindsey wanted to do and it would happen. IMPORTANT!!!”
