Paul Musgrave, professor at Georgetown University
Musgrave says that the Trump administration has lost much of its leverage in the region.
“I would say that they have torched a good deal of what they had going in… Japan, South Korea, France, and the UK all, at best, are saying they are going to consider possibly sending some ships. That is really a blow to the Trump administration’s belief that America is naturally a leader”, he said.
He added that the US is engaged in the wrong conflict at the wrong moment, without proper planning.
On Iran’s strategy, Musgrave said that the calculations from the Iranians right now seem to be “not who has a bigger bomb or bigger munitions, but who has the highest threshold for pain.”
Tehran has endured severe pressure since the first day of the conflict, including attacks targeting its government. Musgrave said that as long as Iran can keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, it maintains significant leverage over the Gulf, the US, Europe and Israel.