Even if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, Trump still wants to declare an end to war—Wall Street journalists are baffled!
According to White House officials quoted by The Wall Street Journal, Trump has clearly told his aides that he is willing to end military operations against Iran even if the majority of the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
This statement stands in stark contrast to his earlier devastating threats—such as "If the strait isn’t opened, I’ll destroy Iran’s oil wells and power plants"—indicating a significant shift in his war objectives.
At the outset of this military conflict, Trump set a timeline of “four to six weeks” for a swift, decisive victory. However, actual developments have exceeded expectations. Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has placed the U.S. in a dilemma: forcibly reopening this strategic waterway would drastically expand the scale and duration of military operations, potentially evolving into a protracted war of attrition.
Facing reality, the White House has reassessed the costs and benefits of continued military action. Ultimately, it decided to downgrade the core war objective, shifting focus to two relatively attainable goals: weakening Iran’s navy and depleting its missile stockpile.
Once these goals are achieved, victory can be declared and troop withdrawals gradually initiated. This means that the original goal—reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which initially seemed crucial—has been temporarily put on hold, with its complex resolution deferred to the future.
However, even Iran experts at Washington’s Brookings Institution have openly stated that ending military operations before the strait resumes navigation would be “extremely irresponsible,” amounting to the White House directly admitting defeat. As Diaoge sees it, such a scenario isn’t impossible—leaving behind a mess for other nations is precisely something the White House might not hesitate to do.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861140816336908/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.