As the on-again, off-again war in Iran flares up again, President Trump seems bogged down in a conflict that he cannot control or move past, despite his declarations of total victory.
On Tuesday night, after the latest exchange of fire over control of the Strait of Hormuz, Mr. Trump called on the Iranian people to rise up — something he did at the outset of the war six months ago, before he backed off and acknowledged that his command was easier said than done.
In a social media post, Mr. Trump also brushed off the stalled negotiations with Iran.
“I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement,” he wrote on Tuesday night, hours after the United States carried out a fresh wave of attacks and Iran hit back.
“I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing,” Mr. Trump continued. “They are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”
But despite Mr. Trump’s combative words, Iran is making clear that it has leverage, as well. Six months into the conflict — which Mr. Trump had predicted would be over in a matter of weeks — there is no real end in sight. Iran has fired on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, severely curbing the ability of U.S. allies to export oil and gas.
Mr. Trump is also feeling the political price at home, in terms of the toll on the American economy and his party’s chances in the midterm elections. He is reluctant to resume an all-out bombardment, even though he issues regular threats, including one on Tuesday night announcing that the United States was hitting Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz.
“If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack,” he wrote, “they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!”
Mr. Trump has tried to squeeze Iran economically by enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports and increasing sanctions on Tehran. But China remains a lifeline for Iran, buying its oil and supplying it with raw materials and technology that support its economy and military. And the United States has shown little appetite for opening another economic front with China.
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