US and Iranian airstrikes against military targets continue
The United States has launched new attacks on Iranian military targets after Iran attacked a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iran conflict, which President Donald Trump said last week would end soon, extended into a fourth day of attacks over the weekend and escalated again on Monday, July 13, as the United States pledged to maintain indefinite control of the vital waterway that controls the flow of much of the world’s oil.
The ongoing fighting has created uncertainty around the world, pushing up gas prices and posing the risk of rising inflation, but it is not yet clear whether the United States will be able to conclude the fighting in Iran and at the same time strike some sort of peace deal that further advances American interests.
“The reality is that these two countries have defined themselves as enemies for the past 40 years,” said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute. “On top of that, Trump murdered the supreme leader.”
Parsi said fighting needs to give way to diplomacy to end the conflict, and to get to the negotiating table, the United States needs to be patient enough to accept that there may be times when things don’t go as planned.
“But Mr. Trump seems to want continued positive feedback to stay the course, and if he doesn’t get it after a while, he’ll just do a 180,” Parsi said. “And when the war doesn’t go well, which it probably won’t, then he’ll make another $180.”
After attacking Iran on the night of July 7, President Trump told reporters on the 8th, “I don’t think it’s going to start again. I think it’s going to end very quickly. They hit a few ships, so we’re going to hit them harder. When they attack, we’re going to hit them 10 times harder.” U.S. Central Command then reported airstrikes on July 11 and 12.
President Trump said the airstrikes in late February began to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, but the conflict now centers on whether Iran can gain control of the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and is critical for exporting Middle Eastern oil to the world.
“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade,” Central Command said on July 12. “Iran does not control it. The U.S. military remains poised and prepared to ensure freedom of navigation for commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unjust aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations.”
President Trump said on the morning of July 13 that the United States would close the Strait of Hormuz and charge vessels passing through it for trouble. This is effectively an update of the practice the United States used from mid-April to late May and prior to the June 19 ceasefire, which lasted less than three weeks.
Parsi said he hoped to reach a tentative agreement between the United States and Iran that would allow ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to notify Iran and neighboring countries. That would buy time for the U.S. and Iran to reach a final deal, he said.
“This is not going to be easy,” Parsi said. “It won’t be quick, but I see nothing to suggest that this military action will have a different outcome than it did just a few weeks ago, so that’s the only way forward.”
