Iran War Update: Trump TACOs again

The Trump administration is reportedly already shrinking its Iran war aims, and that tells you everything. They started out talking about regime change and ending Iran’s nuclear program. Now the goal is apparently just reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which could’ve been avoided by not attacking Iran in the first place. Worse, Iran may now have more leverage over the Strait than before, and Trump is reportedly even floating some kind of joint control arrangement over waterways that aren’t supposed to belong to anyone.

At the same time, the White House is looking for off-ramps while still pouring more troops and aircraft into the region, with Gulf allies reportedly pushing Trump to go bigger. But that likely means ground war. And Americans want the opposite: new polling says they want this conflict ended fast. Then there’s the corruption angle. Suspiciously timed oil trades and Iran bets are piling up around Trump’s announcements, while gas prices are rising again after a major Texas refinery explosion.

And the rest of the news is no less absurd. Trump reportedly killed a TSA funding deal because he didn’t want a deal with Democrats, so enjoy the airport lines. The administration may host Lukashenko. Hungary is openly briefing Russia after EU meetings. Ukraine hit a major Russian oil hub, and Russia reportedly lost more than 6,000 troops in four days. And because hypocrisy is the only constant, Trump called mail-in voting cheating, then voted by mail himself. That’s where we are: smaller war aims, bigger risks, public opposition, insiders cashing in, and Trump still all over the place.