TEHRAN – U.S. President Donald Trump is scrambling to mitigate the consequences of his illegal war against Iran — a conflict that analysts and officials now say he failed to think through.

So far after 15 days of war, the U.S. has lost billions of dollars’ worth of equipment and infrastructure at American bases across West Asia, spent up to one billion dollars a day launching missiles at Iranian civilians and intercepting relatively inexpensive Iranian projectiles targeting American and Israeli positions, and had  countless U.S. soldiers killed — causalities the Trump administration has yet to acknowledge publicly. In addition to all this, Trump's reckless campaign has thrown not only the U.S. economy but also the global market into chaos by provoking Iran to carry out its long-standing threat of restricting navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

This strategic waterway once saw over 20% of the world’s energy supply pass through it daily. Reports indicate that ships belonging to or bound for the U.S. and its allies have been unable to navigate the Strait since early March. Only vessels from China — and, according to unverified reports, a few from India and Turkey — have managed to pass after receiving permission from Iran.

The partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz has become the greatest thorn in the side of the Trump administration since the start of his war with Iran. Disillusioned voters have filmed themselves burning their MAGA (“Make America Great Again”) hats, explaining to their cameras that they supported Trump because he promised to “put America first.” Gas prices have surged sharply across U.S. cities since early March; in some states, prices exceeded $5.50 per gallon on Friday. Even America’s allies now blame Trump. The same European states that once aided Washington by triggering the snapback of pre-JCPOA U.N. sanctions against Iran are condemning his decision to launch what appears to be an aimless war with no achievable objectives. Europe — heavily dependent on Persian Gulf oil exports — is facing record energy prices and the threat of fuel shortages if the war continues for more than a couple additional weeks.

Amid this chaos, Trump has done little to reopen the strait beyond empty talk. His administration initially claimed the waterway was safe and encouraged roughly eighteen vessels to proceed, all of which were struck by Iranian projectiles shortly after setting sail. The White House then announced plans to send naval escorts, but the idea was abandoned before a single vessel was protected. Meanwhile, the two “big, beautiful” aircraft carriers Trump had stationed in the region for weeks — meant to intimidate Iran and force it into big concessions during negotiations — fled from Iran’s vicinity as soon as the war broke out. One of them, USS Abraham Lincoln, fled the region two more times after receiving orders to return. The other, USS Gerald R. Ford, has remained in the Red Sea but has refused to pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait so it can return home. The strait lies near Yemen, where Iran’s powerful ally, the Ansarullah, is based.

In his latest attempt to shift the situation, Trump appealed to other countries, including China, South Korea, Japan, Britain, and France, to help clean up his mess, asking them to send naval forces to the region. During this plea for assistance, he also claimed that the U.S. had destroyed “100%” of Iran’s navy. That came after he ordered strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island — a critical hub for Iranian oil production and exports — and threatened to attack Iran’s broader oil infrastructure if Tehran refused to lift restrictions on navigation through Hormuz. According to sources speaking to the Tehran Times, these latest efforts are doomed to fail as well.

A local source closely connected with Iranian Navy commanders stated that none of Trump’s actions have made any meaningful impact on Iran’s control of the region.

“Trump has indeed carried out some attacks against Iranian targets in the south,” the source said, “but none have affected Iran’s ability to manage the situation here.”

The U.S. hit four or five Iranian warships anchored off Iran’s southern coast, the source revealed, but none were relevant to Iran’s active war operations.  

“The Iranian Navy consists of several specialized units — drones, missiles, fast attack craft, air defense, and more,” the source explained. “Its priorities differ entirely from those of the U.S. Navy, which boasts massive carriers and warships that have now fled the area. Iran focuses on asymmetric warfare, not conventional naval battles fought by giant vessels.”

Regarding Kharg Island, the source said the reality is far different from the picture Trump paints.

“Kharg was never a heavily militarized island. The attacks were limited and insignificant in the broader course of the war. Saddam bombed Kharg hundreds of times in the 1980s — a few U.S. strikes won’t render it inoperable.”

The source also dismissed the notion that American forces could occupy any Iranian island, noting a common saying among Iranian military circles: islands like Qeshm and Bu Musa have “larger underground populations than those above ground.”

“There are countless troops and extensive equipment hidden in tunnels beneath these islands,” he said. “Even if the enemy destroyed all Iran’s visible defensive and offensive capabilities along the coast, U.S. troops would face hell the moment they set foot on Iranian soil.”

Iran maintains full control over the Strait of Hormuz and its southern islands — while Trump can only continue to lie, bluff, and hope the world believes him, the source added.

By Sheida Sabzehvari