Trump's silent Iran war: Withheld information, shifting objectives and skilled deception

The US has been engaged in a conflict with Iran that began in late February. The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial energy waterway, has been effectively closed by Iran, according to multiple sources. US President Donald Trump has claimed that the strait is under US control, but Iran denies this. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated that the strait "has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian," and that it will only be opened and closed under Iran's command.

The conflict has resulted in continued attacks in the Hormuz strait, with diplomacy between the US and Iran stalled. Iran has laid out conditions for reopening the strait, including an end to the "war and aggression against Iran and its allies" and the release of frozen assets. The US has shown little willingness to provide information on the conflict, with reports of deteriorating living conditions for sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which has been deployed for over eight months.

According to Trump, Americans should brace for continued high fuel prices as a result of the war, and he has described Tehran as "very evil." Iran, in turn, has called on the US to accept defeat. An unnamed White House official later clarified that Trump's comment about declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States was a joke, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Brief written by urgent.news from Le Monde English, Malay Mail, Japan Times, Al-Monitor, The Jakarta Post — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.