Trump Deepens 13,000-Strike Iran Conflict as Oil Risks Rise and Support Craters
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jul 17
Trump Deepens 13,000-Strike Iran Conflict as Oil Risks Rise and Support Craters
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jul 17
Summary
Trump is sliding toward what the report calls a “Forever War Lite” with Iran, using repeated threats of “devastating” strikes as diplomacy falters and a vague ceasefire appears beyond rescue.
More than 13,000 strikes have degraded Iran but not broken it, while ongoing counterstrikes, US casualty risks and strain on munitions stockpiles expose the limits of American coercive power.
Dozens of Iranians have died in the latest exchange and thousands since February, with Trump openly discussing attacks on bridges and power plants that legal scholars say would violate international humanitarian law.
Oil prices and Trump’s cratering approval rating are emerging as the main constraints on escalation, especially with midterm elections approaching and domestic support fading.
Iran’s ability to keep its regime functioning despite a year of assassinations and bombardment turns simple survival into a strategic win, sharpening wider doubts about US resolve from the Middle East to Moscow and Beijing.