President Donald Trump arrived in Las Vegas on Tuesday to promote tax cuts while the administration scrambles to end an unpopular war that's driven up fuel and food prices for American families and rattled the global economy. The domestic political tour comes as mounting pressure from voters ahead of November's midterm elections collides with the unfinished business of a conflict that hasn't achieved its stated goals.
Trump told reporters traveling with him in California that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come "tomorrow or the next day," saying "a lot of progress has been made." The strait, once an open international waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas passed, has been closed since the war began. That closure has sent the price of fuel and basic goods soaring far beyond the Middle East.
A War Without Its Promised Outcomes
The United States, along with Israel, launched the war on Feb. 28 with goals including toppling Tehran's government and ending its nuclear program. Those goals weren't achieved. Now the Trump administration faces the prospect of accepting a deal it previously ruled out—one that would give Iran some control over the strait. Iranian and Omani negotiators have finalized a draft deal to reopen the waterway and are awaiting final approval from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who's believed to have been wounded in the war's opening strikes and hasn't been seen in public since then.
The potential agreement would have ships enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman, with service fees charged for security and preserving the maritime environment. The U.S. said it's strongly opposed to any arrangement that would see Iran charge fees. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said the agreement with Oman is in the "final stage" of drafting and that a joint statement will be issued "if certain parties do not obstruct this process," apparently referring to the U.S.
Economic Pressure Builds at Home
Oil prices initially eased on hopes of a deal that would allow shipping to resume but later inched upward. Brent crude, the international standard, was around $80 per barrel on Wednesday, still well below the levels it hit at the height of the conflict. But for working families, the damage is done. Months of elevated energy costs have rippled through household budgets, hitting grocery bills and commuting expenses hardest.
The potential deal is described as a temporary solution tied to an agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran in June that aimed at ending the fighting and reopening the waterway but ultimately collapsed. Officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said the arrangement would pave the way for the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program—the very issue the war was supposed to resolve through military force.
Violence Continues Despite Diplomatic Progress
Attacks on shipping continued even as hopes rose for a deal. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed Wednesday they'd fired ballistic missiles toward a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, said in a prerecorded statement that the vessel was targeted off the Saudi port city of Yanbu. He didn't provide evidence, and there was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.
The attack was part of a recent escalation between the rebels and Saudi Arabia that threatens to reignite Yemen's civil war. In July, the Houthis announced they were closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea for Saudi-linked shipping. On Tuesday, an Indian-flagged commercial ship sank in the Red Sea off Yemen after being struck by an explosive-laden boat, Yemeni and Indian authorities said. Yemen's coast guard rescued the crew. Another vessel sailing in the Red Sea off Yemen reported a loud explosion nearby, and the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the ship's crew was safe.
Fragile Ceasefire Under Strain
The already shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah grew more volatile Wednesday, as the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning to residents of the southern Lebanese village of Mansouri, the first such warning in weeks. Israel said it was responding to Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement, which had largely held since June 20. Later, the Israeli military said it had begun conducting "precise strikes" in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as "a blatant violation of the ceasefire" by Hezbollah.
Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome for a second day to discuss implementation of a deal under which Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw from areas they're occupying in southern Lebanon in exchange for disarmament of Hezbollah. A State Department official said Wednesday that the second day of talks in Rome had ended early "due to events on the ground" but could continue on Thursday, and said the "discussions focused on a range of political and military issues and were extremely productive."
Why This Matters:
The contrast between Trump's domestic tax cut tour and the unresolved consequences of a war that hasn't met its objectives reveals the political and economic pressures facing the administration ahead of midterm elections. American families have borne the economic burden of a conflict that's failed to achieve its stated goals of regime change or nuclear disarmament in Iran. Instead, the administration now appears ready to accept an arrangement it previously rejected—one that would give Iran leverage over a critical waterway. The continuing attacks on shipping and the fragile state of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire show how military action without clear diplomatic strategy can leave civilian populations and global commerce vulnerable. For voters heading to the polls in November, the question isn't just about tax policy—it's about whether military interventions that don't achieve their goals are worth the price working families pay at the pump and the grocery store.