U.S. Hails War Gains Even as It Seeks Out Assistance --- Countries are being asked to protect the flow of oil with escorts out of Gulf

“WASHINGTON -- President Trump and top aides spent the weekend framing their Iran operation as a resounding military success while imploring other countries to join their effort to resolve a worsening energy crisis related to the Strait of Hormuz.

 

The Trump administration as soon as this week plans to announce that multiple countries have agreed to form a coalition that will escort ships through this waterway, which runs along the Iranian coast, U.S. officials said. The potential coalition members are still discussing whether those operations would begin before or after the war ends.

 

The White House declined to comment on the expected announcement, which could shift depending on battlefield conditions. Trump said Sunday that the administration had reached out to seven nations for help policing the strait, but declined to say whether any had agreed to assist. For any that decline, he said, “We will remember”.

 

Publicly, many countries have been noncommittal to such an escort mission until hostilities cease, given the risks involved, including Iran's mining of the waterway.

 

This pressure for the White House to announce such a coalition underscores the dilemma facing it. Gasoline prices continue to rise and questions swirl from within the Republican Party as to the endgame. The military operation has resulted in the striking of more than 6,000 Iranian targets and the killing of Iran's supreme leader and other top regime officials.

 

But the strategic problems -- growing instability in the Middle East, a global energy crisis and the domestic political fallout -- have proven hard to manage through bombing alone.

 

In a joint statement on Sunday, the foreign ministers of the U.K. and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council said council states "have the right to take all necessary measures to defend their security and stability and protect territories, citizens and residents."

 

The weekend rhetoric came as the Iran operation entered its third week. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday said he believed the war would end in a couple of weeks, which he predicted would lead to a fall in energy prices.

 

Trump, meanwhile, said the U.S. planned to bomb the Iranian shoreline along the strait. Last week, Trump asserted the U.S. had won the war to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

 

The average U.S. gasoline price on Sunday was $3.70 a gallon, according to AAA, up from $2.93 one month ago. The cost of diesel has risen to $4.97 from $3.66 in that span.

 

Iran's foreign minister said the nation will continue to fight back, suggesting hostilities will continue. "We never asked for a cease-fire, and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes," Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday on CBS News. After failed negotiations with the U.S., "we don't see any reason why we should talk with Americans," he said.

 

Trump's bet is that Iran will eventually break under severe military pressure, despite its initial stiff resistance, as its weapons capabilities take a pounding.

 

But Suzanne Maloney, an Iran specialist and foreign policy vice president at the Brookings Institution think tank, said Trump won't swiftly get the full capitulation he seeks.

 

"There's a striking disconnect between the U.S. and Israeli operational achievements and the disastrous fallout for the global economy and broader U.S. national security interests," she said. The White House can sell Iran's significant military and nuclear losses as victory, "but if it comes at the cost of a major recession, it won't mean much for Republicans in the midterms, and the Iranians are counting on outlasting the U.S."

 

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House's National Economic Council, said the administration factored energy and economic disruptions into its decision to attack Iran following what he said was its 47 years of aggressions against the U.S. "If Iran thinks that they're going to get President Trump to back down because they're going to make our economy weak, then they just don't understand economics," he said Sunday on Fox News.

 

At this point, some U.S. officials and analysts said, Trump has three imperfect options.

 

He could end the U.S. role in the war, preventing a wider conflict but emboldening a hard-line Iranian regime that will claim victory and try to rebuild its arsenal. The president could continue the war, further decimating Iran but risk adding to the total of 13 killed U.S. servicemembers as energy prices spike. Or the U.S. and Israel could stop bombing now but plan to resume military strikes against Iran every year or so to keep it weak -- a perpetual cycle of on-and-off war.

 

What pathway Trump chooses depends on what his aims truly are. Over two weeks of war, explanations have included regime change and fully degrading Iran's military power, and the timeline for withdrawal has moved from a few days to whenever Trump feels it in his "bones." The White House has denied that Trump's objectives have shifted.

 

Trump has called for the elimination of Iran's military and nuclear capabilities, as well as a pliant Tehran that caters to Washington's demands, similar to Venezuela's turn toward the U.S. after the operation to seize Nicolas Maduro.

 

That is unlikely to happen short of regime change, said Nicole Grajewski, an expert on Iranian strategy at Sciences Po in Paris. "I don't see the Iranians unconditionally surrendering," she said.

 

More than 65 Iranian naval vessels have been severely damaged, destroyed or sunk, including four Soleimani-class ships, upward of 30 minelayers and a drone carrier, the White House said.

 

Trump has called upon other countries reliant on safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz to assist with the transit of the roughly 20% of the world's oil that flows through it, a request allies are considering even though Trump has targeted them with tariffs and those countries broadly oppose the war.” [1]

 

The Strait of Hormuz is so narrow that there is no time to react to the missiles, drones and mines, so the assisting with the transit is a suicide mission. The Journal completely misses the main problem.

 

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global chokepoint, with shipping lanes often only 3-4 miles from the Iranian coast, giving vessels less than two minutes to react to threats. As of mid-March 2026, the area is effectively a high-risk conflict zone where drones, missiles, and potential sea mines make military-escorted transit extremely dangerous.

 

Key Threats and Operational Challenges:

 

    Asymmetric Tactics: Iran uses small fast boats, truck-mounted missiles, and drones, making it difficult to detect and neutralize all threats, say experts.

    Minimal Reaction Time: Due to the narrowness, shore-based missiles and drones can strike ships in minutes, limiting the effectiveness of traditional air defense.

    Mine Warfare: The presence or even the fear of thousands of Iranian sea mines, along with GPS spoofing, makes navigation nearly impossible for commercial shipping.

    Escort Limitations: While naval escorts (like those discussed by the US or France) are proposed, experts believe protecting all tankers is unrealistic given the number of vessels and high risk.

    High-Risk Environment: Major shipping firms have suspended operations, and insurers have increased war-risk premiums to near-prohibitive levels.

 

The situation in the Strait has caused an effective halt to traffic, with many ships waiting or re-routing, as the threat level is deemed critical.

 

1. U.S. Hails War Gains Even as It Seeks Out Assistance --- Countries are being asked to protect the flow of oil with escorts out of Gulf. Ward, Alexander; Ellis, Lindsay; Gramer, Robbie.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 16 Mar 2026: A1.