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Iran Can't Emerge from the War with a Veto on Oil Flows from the Persian Gulf
(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - Two weeks into the conflict, the Iranian regime's strategy is now clear: Target the production of oil in the Persian Gulf and its flow through the Strait of Hormuz. If it can raise the price of oil high enough for long enough, it believes it can force Mr. Trump to call off the bombing campaign. There has been the near total closure of the Strait of Hormuz for non-Iranian oil, a surge in the global price to $100 a barrel, and panic in financial markets and the press. Iran's remaining leaders bet that they will emerge from the war with a sword over the Gulf they can use at any time. This is the danger Mr. Trump faces as he contemplates when to end the war. Reopening the strait and reducing Iran's veto power over its traffic will now have to be a goal. As a conflict evolves, war aims have to change as well. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump said, "We don't want to leave early, do we?...We got to finish the job. We don't want to go back every two years." On Thursday the President said, rightly in our view, that a short-term increase in oil and gasoline prices is worth eliminating Iran's threat to the Middle East, the world economy and the U.S. Mr. Trump is also right that the U.S. shouldn't fight wars we don't intend to win. Winning now includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz.