The Atlantic: “The Qataris play every side, and many of their partners resent them for it. Nonetheless, for decades their experience seemed to show that they really could just buy their national security, along with global influence and even a cosmopolitan culture. Trump must initially have seemed to them to be an ideal partner. And indeed, just four months after the delivery of his airplane, in September 2025, the president signed an executive order that ostensibly guaranteed American protection.”

“But recently, Qatar’s leaders haven’t gotten what they paid for. In February, the United States attacked Iran with practically no warning to the Qataris, despite the fact that they host a major U.S. military base. Then Iran attacked Qatar, badly damaging the country’s natural-gas facilities, the main source of its wealth. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, the only route available to Qatar to export its natural gas, which must be liquefied for transport and is complex to deliver.”

“The country’s neighbors can move oil over land and are planning to build new pipelines now that Iran controls the waterway. But Qatar is stuck, uniquely afflicted by the misadventures of the guy who took their airplane.”

Wall Street Journal: “Iran was at its weakest point in decades, senior aides and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him, providing Trump the rare opportunity to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program and bolster his legacy as a peacemaker. The question was whether a large-scale attack would work and possibly topple the regime.”

“Then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard outlined assessments from America’s intelligence apparatus. According to people familiar with the meeting, she told Trump that killing Iran’s supreme leader would likely usher in a more hard-line regime open to acquiring nuclear weapons. Tehran would rush to close the Strait of Hormuz, destabilizing the global energy market. And it would strike U.S. forces and partners in the Middle East, prompting questions about American resolve and reliability with allies.”

“The notes of caution echoed warnings Trump was receiving from all corners.”

“The U.S will unveil ‘the single greatest financial offensive ever’ against Iran on Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, while Tehran threatened to seize vessels that violate transit rules in the Strait of Hormuz,” CNBC reports.

“The looming escalation comes as both sides missed a 60-day ceasefire window to reach a deal, closing off the formal truce mechanism aimed at ending the Middle East war now in its sixth month.”

“President Donald Trump is betting new sanctions, a naval blockade and ramped-up economic pressure against Iran’s trading partners can accomplish what thousands of bombs and missiles could not: force Tehran to accept a deal to end the war on U.S. terms,” Bloomberg reports.

“But like other U.S. efforts to force Iran into capitulation, there’s one main problem: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has claimed control of the vital Strait of Hormuz and sent volleys of attack drones across the Persian Gulf, may be impervious to such pressure — and has plenty of ways to retaliate.”