President Trump said in March that his military operation in Iran would last just a few weeks. Nearly six months later, the U.S. is still locked in a cycle of airstrikes, blockades and stalled negotiations with no end in sight.
On Tuesday, a Pakistani mediator said a peace deal was within reach. Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, told Bloomberg that “things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement.” But that same day, Iran’s hard-liners dug in. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran would not give up control of the Strait of Hormuz unless the U.S. lifted its naval blockade.
Iran also demanded over the weekend that Washington pay war reparations before easing pressure on the strait. Mr. Trump rejected the idea Monday in the Oval Office. “If there are damages to be paid, I think Iran should pay those damages,” he said.
The toll is showing up at the pump. The average U.S. gas price stood at $4.01 a gallon Tuesday, 35% higher than when the war began, according to AAA.
Gordon Gray, a former U.S. ambassador to Tunisia now at George Washington University, said Mr. Trump grew overconfident after January’s capture of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, adding there is “a vast difference between Venezuela and Iran.”
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• Trump grapples with cycle of violence, diplomacy and economic pressure as Iran war nears sixth month
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