Trump Orders New Strikes on an Iran That May Have No One in Charge
President Trump has ordered a fresh attack on Iran, with U.S. officials saying strikes could begin as soon as this weekend — pushing a war now entering its sixth month into another round of escalation. Here's the problem few are discussing: Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been missing since a March 30 airstrike, his condition unconfirmed. The U.S. may be escalating against a state where it's genuinely unclear who has the authority to escalate back — or to stand down.
Bottom Line
THE BOTTOM LINE: The new strike order matters less for what it destroys than for what it reveals — the U.S. is escalating a six-month war against a country whose supreme leader has been missing for weeks, and nobody can say with confidence who in Tehran could actually end this. Military pressure works when there's a decision-maker to pressure. Right now, that's the biggest unknown in this war, and it's why this round of escalation is harder to walk back than the last one.