6 looming questions about the Iran war

The Iran war could be reaching another pivot point.

Following the demise of a three-month-long ceasefire, the two sides returned to fighting this month, but with little sign that either is really gaining a strategic advantage. With the war in a bit of a quagmire, the main movement seemingly happening right now is wavering support among the conflict’s few US supporters. And although US operations are “on a hold,” a Defense Department source told over the weekend, after nearly two consecutive weeks of nightly strikes, the Trump administration has routinely flirted with escalation.

Do Republicans start applying more pressure to end it?
Even those who didn’t initially criticize the war are starting to publicly question how long it can go on.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham said last Monday night that “the clock is ticking for President Trump to get out of this war before voters head to the polls. It’s making a lot of Republicans nervous. … Republicans cannot let this become an endless distraction, especially if they want to win in November.”

Are those Republicans prepared to push Trump to get out if there’s no nuclear deal? What if Iran continues to control the Strait of Hormuz? The latter, especially, would be a major loss that would be difficult to sell as anything else. So if prominent Republicans suggest it’s time to just get out regardless of a deal, or with the issue of the strait unsettled, it quite simply means they’re terrified of the politics of this.

The evidence suggests there’s good reason for the president’s apparent anxiety.