No Good Options

The United States bombing of Kharg Island, Iran’s foremost oil export terminal, suggests that President Donald Trump may realise that he has no good options in Iran. Without the bombing, any Trump declaration of victory would likely have rung hollow with critics comparing it to President George W. Bush’s 2003 Mission Accomplished in Iraq speech, after which the war continued for another nine years. Even so, Mr. Trump faces unpalatable choices that don’t include the falling silent of the guns at a time of his choosing, despite the death and destruction wrought by the US and Israeli militaries.