Two weeks into Iran war, Trump scrambles as Hormuz crisis escalates

Dubai: Two weeks after launching a war against Iran that was meant to be swift and decisive, US President Donald Trump is grappling with an escalating conflict, global economic shock and growing questions about Washington’s strategy.

What the White House initially envisioned as a focused military campaign lasting only weeks has instead turned into a widening confrontation across the Middle East, with Iran retaliating against regional targets, global oil markets rattled and no clear exit strategy in sight.

According to a detailed account reported by CNN, the operation ran into trouble almost immediately after it began.

Fresh intelligence on February 28 indicated that Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was meeting top officials. The United States and Israel accelerated their plans in hopes of eliminating the regime’s senior leadership in one decisive strike.

The attack succeeded in killing Khamenei and several high-ranking aides. But it also wiped out many of the lower-tier figures Washington had quietly viewed as potential successors who might steer Iran in a more pro-Western direction.

“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” Trump later acknowledged. “And now we have another group. They may be dead also… Pretty soon, we’re not going to know anybody.”

Instead of triggering a rapid collapse of the Iranian system, the strike hardened the regime.

Iran quickly installed Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son, as the new supreme leader. In a message attributed to him, he vowed revenge and warned Gulf countries to sever ties with the United States.

Meanwhile, Iranian retaliation expanded across the region. Missiles and drones targeted multiple locations in the Gulf, and attacks on shipping effectively halted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries about 20% of the world’s oil supply.

The disruption triggered a global energy shock. Oil prices surged and the average price of gasoline in the United States rose to $3.63 per gallon, about 65 cents higher than before the war began.

Inside the Trump administration, officials have been scrambling to respond.

Early in the conflict, the State Department issued a warning urging Americans to “depart now” from more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries, even as commercial flights had already been suspended in many places. Emergency task forces were set up to assist US citizens stranded across the region.

More than two dozen charter flights have since evacuated thousands of Americans.

At the same time, the war planning itself has drawn criticism. According to officials cited by CNN, the White House had sharply downsized the National Security Council, weakening the interagency process normally used to vet military strategies and coordinate input across government departments.

“The planning falls apart without that process,” one senior US official told CNN.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected the criticism, saying Trump had been fully briefed on the risks, including the possibility that killing Khamenei could produce an even more hardline successor.

Trump’s confidence was shaped in part by earlier operations that appeared to carry limited consequences, including the 2020 assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and strikes on Iranian nuclear sites last year.

Those precedents reinforced a belief among some US officials that Iran might respond only weakly.

Instead, the conflict has spread.

Israel has intensified attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, where authorities say nearly 800 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. Iranian strikes have also hit targets in Gulf countries that were not involved in the assault.

In Washington, lawmakers from both parties have pressed the administration for clarity about the war’s objectives and timeline.

During classified briefings, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly told members of Congress he could not predict how long the conflict would last, despite Trump publicly suggesting it might end within weeks.

“I’ve been alarmed by the lack of clarity,” Senator Richard Blumenthal said, warning that Iran may have little incentive to end the war quickly.

Economic fallout has added further pressure. Iran’s disruption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz cut off the flow of roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day, forcing Western governments to consider emergency measures.

The United States and allies have discussed releasing about 400 million barrels from strategic reserves, while Washington has explored insuring ships transiting the strait. But tanker traffic has largely remained frozen after several vessels were attacked.

Iran warned on Saturday that it would target facilities belonging to US companies across the region if its energy infrastructure comes under attack.

In remarks reported by Iranian state media, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would act cautiously to avoid striking populated areas but would respond if its oil facilities were targeted.

The warning came as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz — the vital waterway carrying about one-fifth of global oil supplies — continued to escalate.

US President Donald Trump urged other countries to send naval forces to help secure the strait, which has been disrupted by the war.

Posting on Truth Social, Trump said multiple nations could join the effort to keep the shipping lane open.

“Many countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,” he wrote.

Trump said he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom would also deploy ships to the region.

The US president has said American naval forces will soon begin escorting oil tankers through the strait to restore the flow of global energy supplies.

Trump also claimed that US strikes had destroyed 100% of Iran’s military capability, though analysts say Iran retains significant missile and drone forces despite heavy losses.

In an effort to change the situation, Trump announced airstrikes on Kharg Island, the hub of Iran’s oil exports, and warned he could destroy the country’s oil infrastructure if Tehran does not reopen the waterway.

Still, diplomats and analysts say the war’s endgame remains uncertain.

Even close allies have voiced concern. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said after meeting Trump that there appeared to be “no joint plan” to bring the conflict to a swift conclusion.

For now, the administration says its goals remain destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, crippling its navy and eliminating its ability to develop nuclear weapons.

But Trump himself has sent mixed signals, at times suggesting the United States might help choose Iran’s future leadership or even deploy troops.

Asked when the war would end, Trump offered a characteristically vague answer.

“When I feel it,” he said. “Feel it in my bones.”