The Strategy From Iran is To Expand The War, Increase The Cost and Outlast Trump
The aftermath of a strike in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday. Iran is working to enlarge the battlefield. Credit... Mahmud Hams/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images By Steven Erlanger Steven Erlanger writes about European and Middle Eastern diplomacy and security. New York Times The Islamic Republic of Iran’s first priority is to survive. To do that, its leaders will want to drive up the cost of the war for President Trump — in terms of American casualties, energy costs and inflation — to try to persuade him to declare victory and go home. Faced with the overwhelming firepower of the United States and Israel, diplomats and analysts say, Iran is working to enlarge the battlefield from its own territory to the broader region. The goals are to damage oil and gas infrastructure in neighboring countries, shut the Strait of Hormuz to shipping and curtail air traffic — all to disrupt the economies of the Persian Gulf and drive up global energy prices and inflation. Iran will a...
