One month into war, US and Iran are at a standoff

When President Donald Trump launched Operation Epic Fury in late February, he vowed to raze Iran’s missile industry to the ground, annihilate its navy and ensure that it could never obtain a nuclear weapon.

But one month into the war, Iran continues to reject U.S. demands to dismantle its nuclear program and has shown little interest in backing down.

After striking more than 10,000 targets, the U.S. military appears to have met many of its initial objectives — degrading Iran’s weapons stockpiles, sinking most of its largest warships, and killing its top brass, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

At the same time, the joint U.S.-Israel attacks and Tehran’s retaliation have brought renewed turmoil to the Middle East. Thousands of people have fled the region, U.S. bases have sustained significant damage, and Gulf leaders have grown increasingly frustrated with the barrage of attacks hitting their nations on a daily basis.

Military officials say the U.S. is on track or ahead of its plan to eliminate Iranian power. But Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for nearly a fifth of the world’s oil, has complicated matters — causing a surge in the price of fuel and putting global economies on edge.

President Trump on Thursday extended the U.S. ceasefire on power plants, giving Iran until April 6 to reopen the strait. The U.S. is also preparing to send some 15,000 additional troops to the region, according to news reports, and the president has not ruled out a ground invasion.

While the U.S. might have started the war looking for regime change, the primary objective now seems to be reopening the critical shipping corridor, said Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center and an expert in U.S. defense policy.

In that regard, Iran maintains an advantage, she said.

“I think the administration is trying to figure out how to bring this to an end. Because the problem they have is they don’t have as much leverage as they would like to do that,” Grieco said. “It takes one party to start a war. It takes both parties, on both sides of a conflict, to end it.”

Analysts say sending ground forces into Iran or trying to open the Strait of Hormuz by force would be difficult and could prolong the war while making it deadlier.

Iranians have framed the conflict as one that could determine their survival as a nation. At a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, accused the U.S. and Israel of attempting to commit genocide.

At least 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, Iran’s Red Crescent said Friday.

For U.S. military personnel in the region, the conflict has prompted a massive reshuffling as the Pentagon has worked to move troops, their families and other military personnel out of the line of fire.

Strikes have left many of the 13 military bases in the region all but uninhabitable, The New York Times reported this week, forcing many to relocate to nearby hotels and office spaces. Hundreds of military families have been evacuated from the region under drone and missile fire, taking only essential belongings as they sought safe haven in Europe and the U.S.

Iran has significantly damaged bases in Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In Kuwait, six service members were killed in a strike on an Army tactical operations center in Port Shuaiba. One soldier diedafter an attack on Saudi Arabia. All six crew members aboard a KC-135 refueling tanker died when their plane crashed over friendly territory in Iraq.

It is unclear whether Trump has a timeline in mind for ending the war. He has, at various times, mentioned it could take several weeks or several months to reach a deal. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Trump has told associates he wants a speedy end to the war.

Trump also has said negotiations are going “very well,” despite Iran’s public insistence that it is not interested in a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Israel has continued striking Iranian targets. On Friday, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz announced plans to escalate and expand its attacks on Iran in retaliation for strikes on civilians.

By LARA KORTE