Trump’s war on Iran reaches crisis point

But Trump has said he will return to “strong military action,” if peace talks fail (Pic: Wikimedia Commons)

Donald Trump is desperately looking for an exit strategy as the US runs low on missiles for its war on Iran.

The US regime was forced to pause its bombardment of Iran over the weekend.

It is an abrupt climbdown after last Thursday when the president threatened an attack “bigger than ever before”.

US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz claimed that the pause was to allow more talks with Iran.

But back in April the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported concerns about the supply of missiles.

It said that for four types of ­missiles, the US “may have expended more than half of the pre-war ­inventory” even by that point.

Iran has humbled the world’s biggest superpower with relatively cheap and easily produced drones. It has depleted the interceptor missiles the US uses to defend its ­airbases.

And the war remains deeply ­unpopular in the US, with two-thirds of adults disapproving of Trump’s handling of the conflict.

Over 600 military service members have been injured in a war that has failed to achieve any of its aims.

There are concerns about whether the state is being transparent about the impact of the war.

The death count from the operation was reduced from 18 to 14 by the Pentagon ­without explanation this month.

And US senators are infuriated by US “secretary of state for war” Pete Hegseth’s demands for more money.

The conflict has had unforeseen consequences. It has escalated as the Houthi resistance movement has launched attacks on US ally Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis control much of northern Yemen ­including the capital Sanaa and the strategically important Red Sea port Hodeidah.

Recently, the Saudi-backed Yemen government attacked Sanaa airport to stop an Iranian plane from landing.

The Houthis retaliated and have now attacked two important Saudi state-owned oil facilities.

Following the attacks, shipping through the important Bab el-Mandeb Strait, near Yemen’s coast, slowed down.

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut, a closure of Bab el-Mandeb would further add to the squeeze on global fuel supplies.

Global reserves of oil and gas failed to recover to pre-war levels during the shaky ceasefire earlier this year.

There are also growing ­tensions between Iran and Ukraine—Ukrainian forces attacked an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea last Saturday.

The US is on the ropes. But a wounded beast can still lash out. Trump has said he will return to “strong military action” if talks fail.

British prime minister Andy Burnham has said he has “concerns” about Trump’s war with Iran.

But he has packed his cabinet with right wingers.

New defence secretary Wes Streeting is determined to keep up the “special ­relationship” with the US.

And the US B-1 bombers used to attack Iran last week were stationed at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

The anti-war movement should demand Burnham refuse to draw Britain further into these ­dangerous imperialist wars.