Trump Rejects Heavier Iran Assault as 5-Month War Drains Missiles and GOP Support
Updated
Updated · The Atlantic · Aug 3
Trump Rejects Heavier Iran Assault as 5-Month War Drains Missiles and GOP Support
3 articles · Updated · The Atlantic · Aug 3
Summary
A Friday White House meeting weighed a broader new strike on Iran, but Trump and his advisers again decided against escalation after nearly two weeks of renewed U.S. bombing.
Defensive interceptor shortages at Central Command, fears of a wider regional war, Gulf allies' anger, and risks of an energy or refugee crisis drove the decision, with Trump warning escalation could trigger a global economic shock.
The restraint comes 5 months into a war Trump had expected to end quickly; U.S. casualties are rising, Iran has kept pressuring the Strait of Hormuz, and a strike on a base in Jordan killed 3 American service members.
At home, the conflict is colliding with sinking approval ratings and growing Republican resistance, including Senate refusal to scrap the filibuster for the SAVE Act and calls from allies such as Mike Johnson to "wrap it up."
Strategists in both parties now expect Democrats to win at least 1 chamber in the midterms, threatening to freeze Trump's agenda and accelerate his slide toward lame-duck irrelevance.