The Gamble in the Gulf
As missiles fly across the Middle East, Trump faces blowback at home, global oil routes freeze, and diplomacy collapses just as mediators said progress was possible
The Middle East has entered a dangerous new phase - one where military escalation, economic shockwaves, and political risk are colliding in real time.
With hundreds of targets hit by the US and Israel in Iran, retaliatory strikes across the Gulf, burning skylines, disrupted air routes, and shipping halted through the Strait of Hormuz, the consequences are already extending far beyond the battlefield. But the bigger story may be unfolding in Washington, where this intervention risks opening new political fractures at home - even among those who once promised America would avoid new wars.
*** Late breaking news: Israel's prime minister said there were "growing signs" that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is "gone" after US and Israeli strikes, several news agencies reported. Donald Trump has said in response: "I have spoken to a lot of people, we feel that is a correct story." But Iranian officials dismissed such talk. A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, told ABC News that both Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were “safe and sound.”
In today’s World Briefing Plus subscriber-only video, I break down what this operation really means, why the timing is so unusual, and the risks few are talking about publicly.
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