WASHINGTON — A month after President Donald Trump authorized military action inside Iran, U.S. commanders are reporting only marginal territorial gains while Tehran’s missile and drone capability remains “largely intact,” according to two senior defense officials briefed on the latest battlefield assessment.
The operation, launched on 20 February following the downing of a U.S. surveillance aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz, was conceived as a rapid campaign to degrade Iran’s air-defense network and force its leadership to the negotiating table. Instead, American forces have faced unexpectedly resilient resistance, supply-line harassment and mounting political blowback at home and abroad.
“We are hitting targets, but the strategic effect is nowhere near decisive,” said one U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive planning. Daily air and naval strikes have destroyed dozens of fixed radars, yet Iranian units have quickly re-deployed mobile systems and continued to launch short-range missiles into the Gulf, the official added.
The Pentagon on Thursday confirmed the deaths of three additional service members in a rocket attack near the southwestern city of Ahvaz, bringing the U.S. fatality count to 12. Iranian media, meanwhile, put civilian deaths above 400, a figure American officials could not verify. Oil prices closed above $111 a barrel for the first time since 2014 as renewed skirmishes briefly closed the shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week.
Critics inside the administration say the president has repeatedly overridden target lists drawn up by Central Command, favoring high-visibility strikes that “feel strong” over sustained logistical objectives. “There’s no coherent end-state,” said a former National Security Council official who remains in contact with current staff. “Decisions are being made meeting by meeting, tweet by tweet.”
House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries called for a classified briefing, arguing that Congress “has not been given a clear strategy.” Republican allies have largely backed the president but some, including Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), warned that “Americans need to understand the costs if this extends into a protracted ground fight.”
Iran’s foreign ministry vowed to keep “every option on the table,” and on Wednesday displayed wreckage it claims came from two U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones shot down near Bushehr. U.S. officials acknowledged the loss of one drone but said the second crashed due to mechanical failure.
Analysts note that the conflict’s trajectory now hinges on whether Washington escalates with additional ground forces or pursues the tentative back-channel talks reportedly underway in Muscat. “Next month is pivotal,” said Emily Hawthorne of the Eurasia Group. “If neither side blinks, the region faces a drawn-out shadow war that keeps energy markets and global security on edge.”