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Six months of escalation
Reuters said the war described by President Donald Trump as a “short trip” has become a crisis that threatens to undermine his presidency, with Iran not yielding and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz remaining highly disrupted.
“Trump once predicted would end within four weeks”
Reuters reported that there was no clear path to end the conflict that Trump once predicted would end within four weeks, and it listed six consequences six months after the outbreak of the war.
Reuters/Ipsos polling cited by Reuters said Trump’s approval rating fell from 40% to 33% since the conflict began, as rising gasoline prices undercut Trump’s 2024 campaign promise to lower costs for Americans.
Reuters also said a May report from the Congressional Research Service stated that 42 U.S. military aircraft were lost in the conflict, and it described a decline in U.S. military readiness as American military lost drones and aircraft due to Iranian strikes and other incidents.
In Rochester, N.Y., WHAM reported that Tommy Mach, a Fairport resident and retired Marine, said, “I hope that it ends quickly,” and added, “I hope that we can bring our troops back.”
Strikes, missiles, and threats
In a Sunday U.S. strike described by 20Minutos, the United States carried out a 'precision' strike against two platforms used to launch rockets equipped with sea mines on Iran's Larak Island, and CENTCOM said the placement of the mines by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps represented an 'imminent threat'.
20Minutos reported that Iran promptly responded by claiming to have attacked two U.S. bases in Jordan in the early hours of this Monday, while the Jordanian Army confirmed that its defense systems intercepted eight missiles and that there were no damages or fatalities.
20Minutos quoted Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian saying, “We do not seek war, and this is the message we have conveyed to the world. But we will never stand idly by in the face of aggression and we will respond decisively,” before departing for Kyrgyzstan.
In the same reporting, 20Minutos said CENTCOM clarified the operation was not 'an act of aggression' as Tehran claimed, and it said the operation was carried out with drones, as confirmed by a U.S. official to CNN.
In 6abc Philadelphia, the U.S. strike hit a home hosting a wedding, killing two people and wounding dozens, and Trump warned, “If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level.”
Oil transit and political fallout
6abc Philadelphia said the renewed fighting has spiked global oil prices and posed political problems for Republicans in November's midterm congressional elections, with crude already up about 7% this week and the price of crude jumping more than 50% this year.
“crude, already up about 7% this week”
6abc Philadelphia reported that the cost for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. ticked higher again overnight to $4.10, compared with $3.19 last year at this time, and it said the U.S. and Iran are both seeking control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil normally flows.
Reuters said Iran was targeted but not defeated, and it added that Tehran can still launch attacks and keep the Hormuz Strait under closure, while also saying the war shook the global economy but to a lesser extent than feared.
In 20Minutos, CENTCOM stated that the U.S. Army eliminated the mine-launching threat to protect civilian sailors, commercial maritime transport, and the free flow of world trade, and it said it was monitoring the area and was 'ready' to 'protect free commercial passage through the Strait of Hormuz.'
In WHAM’s account from Rochester, N.Y., Tommy Mach said he was frustrated that the war was still ongoing and it shouldn’t have begun in the first place, adding, “It seems like it's just ongoing.”