Bombing Without an End State: Washington Is Fighting for More Than Hormuz

Posted on by Elijah J Magnier

By Elijah J. Magnier –

The United States is no longer fighting Iran merely to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. It is fighting to prevent Tehran from demonstrating that American dominance in the Middle East has been fundamentally weakened. Ships, oil exports and navigation fees remain the immediate instruments of confrontation, but the deeper subject of this war has become the credibility of American power.

President Donald Trump appears to be failing to understand Iran’s fundamental calculation: if the price demanded for peace is higher than the cost of war, Tehran will choose war without hesitation. Further destruction will not compel surrender if Iranian leaders believe that the proposed settlement would impose a more lasting strategic defeat than the battlefield itself.

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Published by Elijah J Magnier

Veteran War Zone Correspondent and Senior Political Risk Analyst with over 35 years' experience covering the Middle East and acquiring in-depth experience, robust contacts and political knowledge in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan and Syria. Specialised in terrorism and counter-terrorism, intelligence, political assessments, strategic planning and thorough insight in political networks in the region. Covered on the ground the Israeli invasion to Lebanon (1st war 1982), the Iraq-Iran war, the Lebanese civil war, the Gulf war (1991), the war in the former Yugoslavia (1992-1996), the US invasion to Iraq (2003 to date), the second war in Lebanon (2006), the war in Libya and Syria (2011 to date). Lived for many years in Lebanon, Bosnia, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Syria.