Barely a week after American bombs reined down across Iran, Donald Trump picked up the phone to a reporter at the New York Post. Oil prices surged as Tehran moved to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes each day. Six months on, Trump is caught in a quagmire of his own making.
Both sides continue to trade strikes, shipping through Hormuz has slowed to a trickle and the war is no closer to a resolution. Oil prices are still 25 per cent higher than in February and the US military continues to record casualties, while Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since he took office. Despite his claim to have destroyed Iran’s military, analysts say it is damaged but remains intact.
Meanwhile, control of Hormuz has given Tehran a vital piece of leverage, with consumers across the world facing hikes in energy prices. The Independent has examined data that lays bare the astonishing cost of Trump’s war to the global economy, the wider Middle East, the US military and his own domestic popularity. Without a face-saving exit strategy, experts say, the US is at risk of “drifting towards a form of forever war” that could prove to be Trump’s greatest miscalculation.
More than 8,000 people across the Middle East have been killed since 28 February, according to an aggregate of local tallies. While both sides have scaled back strikes in recent months, casualty figures continue to grow. According to the Iranian government, at least 3,468 Iranians had been killed by mid-April.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency put the figure at 3,636, including 1,701 civilians, in May. As of this week, the Pentagon has tallied 14 US service member deaths and 417 injuries directly linked directly to its Operation Epic Fury. A further four have been killed in overseas operations since 7 July, while 341 have been injured, for a total of 18 deaths and 758 wounded.
Another 60 injuries were listed just last week. Civilians have been caught up in the conflict. The US military was accused of killing a young family with a 907kg bomb in renewed strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island at the end of July.
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