Three Months After Strikes, U.S. and Iran Remain in Standoff

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered military strikes against Iran that began on February 28 and have continued for three months. The operation, named Operation Epic Fury, targeted Iranian ballistic missile sites, naval vessels, and leadership positions.

Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz and conducting attacks on Israel and Gulf states. The closure raised global energy prices. U.S. forces later imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.

U.S. and Israeli airstrikes destroyed much of Iran's ballistic missile inventory and sank a large portion of its navy. Several senior Iranian commanders were killed during the campaign. Iran's government remains in place. Its stockpile of highly enriched uranium is believed to be buried and recoverable.

Tehran has rejected demands to ship the material abroad. The standoff has produced higher U.S. gasoline prices and declining approval ratings for the president ahead of November midterm elections. Republican lawmakers who initially supported the operation have shown signs of division.

Trump's stated goals included preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, ending its support for proxy groups, and weakening its government.

“We’re three months in, and it’s looking like a war that was designed to be a short-term romp for Trump is turning into a long-term strategic failure.”

Iran's new leadership is described as more hardline than the officials killed in the strikes. Tehran has matched U.S. victory claims with its own statements describing the campaign as a defeat. Alexander Gray, a former senior adviser in Trump's first term, said the damage to Iranian military capabilities constituted a strategic success and that Gulf states had moved closer to the United States.

The conflict has lasted twice the six-week maximum timeframe originally outlined by the administration. European allies have declined requests for direct military assistance.