They made a "big mistake," President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly. Trump could have been firing that accusation in any number of directions, given his ever-growing list of enemies. But the target in this case was Iran, and the context Trump’s offer of "full economic cooperation in exchange for ending their nuclear program and support for terror." The Iranian regime declined, as we know, and war has raged, on and off, since February 28.
To Trump’s critics, the war in Iran was itself a big mistake. He defends the conflict as, above all, a necessary campaign to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. This whole affair has been a cascade of mistakes from all parties, involved directly or not.
Here, from bad to worse, are seven of the biggest made during the Iran war. With Hezbollah mauled, Hamas obliterated, and Iraq’s militias hedging, Ansar Allah became the last fully functioning arm of Iran’s regional network—and promptly overworked it. They resumed attacks on Saudi Arabia in July and by September had seized the coast beside Bab al-Mandeb, closing it to Saudi-linked shipping.
Overstretched in aid of a regime in decline, they now have the attention of Riyadh, Washington, and London at once. Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, announced military support for the Saudis this week. Having made themselves indispensable to Tehran, the Houthis then reportedly assured U.S. officials in Oman that American ships were safe—selling the same leverage twice.
The Houthis are causing trouble for everyone. And soon enough, themselves too. China has been Iran’s longtime strategic partner, funding it through oil purchases as the only major buyer of its sanctioned crude.
During the war it went even further. Washington sanctioned Chinese entities in May over satellite imagery used against U.S. forces, a shipment of missile-propellant precursor arrived in April. reported four days before the first strikes that Tehran was close to buying Chinese supersonic anti-ship missiles. Roughly 40 percent of Chinese crude transits Hormuz.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
