Elliot Cohen: “The war’s advocates may acknowledge that the Trump administration has done a clumsy job of arguing its case and that it has entered the conflict with only one visible ally, but they view those as venial strategic sins. What they admire is the ferocity of the onslaught against the Islamic Republic and Donald Trump’s apparent willingness to stick it out despite rising oil prices and discontent even among his base.”

“They are wrong. In any war, even the most just, maintaining domestic support is essential to victory, because the outcome is inherently uncertain…”

“But if the war’s advocates underestimate the extent of the administration’s strategic malpractice, its opponents miss one big thing as well: the Iran problem. The threat posed by the regime is severe, and all previous attempts to deal with it have failed egregiously.”

After pleading for help from U.S. allies and getting turned down by all of them, President Trump took to Truth Social to say he doesn’t need or want any help with the Strait of Hormuz.

Said Trump: “We don’t need the help of anyone!”

Senior Israeli officials have told U.S. diplomats that Iranian protesters will “get slaughtered” if they take to the streets against their government even as Israel publicly calls for a popular uprising, the Washington Post reports.

The cable relayed an Israeli assessment that Iran’s regime is “not cracking” and is willing to “fight to the end.”

Thomas Wright: “The window for Donald Trump to end the Iran war by simply declaring victory and walking away is rapidly closing. Soon he will face a stark choice: He can take greater risks in pursuit of a decisive tactical success, prepare the country for a prolonged conflict that could last for many months, or seek a negotiated settlement that involves a real compromise with Tehran.”

Edward Luce: “Wars, AI drama, even the odd peace prize — the world had plenty on its bingo card for 2026. But it did not include Donald Trump urging China to send ships to the Middle East. The US president’s request for Chinese help is a black swan moment.”

“In an age of great power rivalry, the hegemon is inviting its main challenger to help extract it from the world’s most combustible region. Read that again. Then ponder where China’s incentive lies. Why interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake?”

“That China has no intention of sending minesweepers to the Strait of Hormuz is clear. The question is whether Xi Jinping wants to see Trump backed into a corner. It is one thing for China to gain a diplomatic edge over the US; quite another to test whether Trump is Dr Strangelove.”

Gideon Rachman: “A conflict with Iran that started with vague war aims now has one clear and overriding objective: reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Ironically and infuriatingly, the only reason the strait is closed is because the US and Israel went to war in the first place.”

“It is not in Trump’s power to reopen this vital sea passage by declaring victory and walking away. Instead his war with Iran — and the particular issue of the Strait of Hormuz — will define the rest of his presidency and may haunt his successors.”

“We clearly just kicked Iran’s ass in the field, but, to a large extent, they hold the cards now. They decide how long we’re involved—and they decide if we put boots on the ground. It doesn’t seem to me there’s a way around that, if we want to save face.”

— A source close to the White House, quoted by Politico.

“Joe Kent, one of the United States’ top counterterrorism officials, announced his resignation on Tuesday, citing his opposition to the Iran war and what he said was Israel’s influence over the Trump administration’s policies,” the New York Times reports.

Said Kent: “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Nate Swanson: “Iran’s economic woes are in large part the consequence of a foreign policy designed to counter U.S. interests. When faced with popular discontent, Khamenei consistently resisted reforms and resorted to violence to repress his people—most notably in January, when his regime murdered thousands of its citizens.”

“But he clearly prepared Iran for this moment. Confronted with a truly existential threat, Iran has mounted a much more deliberate, decentralized, and effective response than many expected, striking not only Israeli territory and U.S. diplomatic and military installations but also civilian targets throughout the Persian Gulf, including airports, hotels, and energy infrastructure.”

“Trump likely wants to declare victory soon. The Iranian military has been severely degraded. Israel may be running low on missile interceptors, and keeping global markets stable will require reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has declared closed to its enemies.”

“But he cannot force surrender on a government that refuses it. Even after the heavy damage to Iran’s military, the regime that Khamenei put in place has powerful incentives to pursue continued conflict, and it retains a variety of tools to sustain a war of attrition.”

“Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) offered a bold new spin on Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Mediaite reports.

“He says former President Joe Biden is at least partly to blame.”

Said Husted: “Joe Biden and his entire team with the Green New Deal helped really put groups like Iran and their ability to finance wars and not stand up to them as they crossed red lines time after time. And now President Trump is having to fix the problems of the past.”