WASHINGTON - Donald Trump’s inner circle is growing alarmed that he may be losing control of the Iran war after allied countries flatly rejected his plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has demanded US allies deploy warships to reopen the critical oil passageway, but France, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom have all declined to assist in protecting commercial shipping from Iranian attack.
Gas prices have surged to an average of US$3.80 a gallon from US$2.90 before the conflict began, now in its third week, as the narrow strait through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows remains strangled by Iranian mines and missiles. Israel claimed it had killed two high-ranking Iranian commanders overnight. Thirteen US troops have been killed in the conflict, with more than 200 injured across seven countries.
‘We clearly just kicked (Iran’s) ass in the field, but, to a large extent, they hold the cards now,’ a source close to the White House told Politico. ‘They decide how long we’re involved, and they decide if we put boots on the ground. And it doesn’t seem to me that there’s a way around that, if we want to save face.’
Some allies fear Trump risks being dragged into an open-ended conflict just as the midterm elections approach, with the escalating war threatening to drive up the cost of living for voters already furious about affordability.
‘‘The terms have changed,’’ said a second person familiar with the military operation.
Donald Trump’s inner circle is growing alarmed that he may be losing control of the Iran war after allied countries flatly rejected his plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.