Mr. Trump is currently considering two actions that would almost certainly require ground action by American or Israeli forces: Taking over Kharg Island, where Iran loads most of the oil it produces onto tankers, and the underground site at Isfahan where it stores most of its 970 pounds of near-bomb-grade nuclear fuel. Mr. Trump told reporters that he was unconcerned that such moves could commit U.S. forces to a Vietnam-like boondoggle in Iran. “I’m really not afraid of that,” he told reporters. “I’m really not afraid of anything.”

Trump Says U.S. Does Not ‘Need or Desire’ Help From Allies on Iran

President Trump has faced mounting criticism over the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran from allies and even members of his own administration.

By Karoun Demirjian and David E. Sanger

Reporting from Washington

Despite President Donald Trump’s blustering that America benefits when oil prices surge, crunch time is fast approaching for both the war and the energy market. He either ends the conflict quickly, or sky-high energy costs will force him to do so. The oil market may not have the same fearsome reputation as the bond market but, trust me, it can be equally savage in twisting a politician’s arm.

 

The White House's Oil-Restraint Toolbox Is Empty

March 13, 2026 at 12:00 AM EDT

Updated on 

March 13, 2026 at 3:00 AM EDT

By Javier Blas

Javier Blas is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. He is coauthor of “The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources.”

When the first cruise missiles began detonating inside Iran, the strikes had all the hallmarks of previous successful US military campaigns — unstoppable, overwhelming force delivered without warning. But as the conflict extends toward a third week, the US war effort is showing unexpected signs of strain against an adversary whose military budget is smaller than the GDP of Vermont — but which has an arsenal of missiles and drones unlike anything the US has ever faced.

 

Iran’s Cheap, Plentiful Weaponry Puts US Military Under Unprecedented Strain

As the conflict extends toward a third week, an arsenal of attack drones and ballistic missiles has helped make Tehran unlike any adversary the US has faced.

By Gerry Doyle, Jen Judson, Courtney McBride and Becca Wasser - Bloomberg Economics March 10, 2026 at 5:38 PM EDT

Does Trump have a special-forces raid set up to retrieve the enriched uranium left behind from the last raid? Otherwise why did he bother?

 

The Nuclear Job in Iran Isn’t Finished

By

The WSJ Editorial Board

The wall Street Journal's Editorial board has lost its mind stating "The reality inside Iran and the region is that the U.S. and Israel continue to make progress. The regime loses more of its military each day, along with the ability to hurt its neighbors. The Israelis estimate 70% to 75% of Iran’s missile launchers have been destroyed, and the U.S. has destroyed at least 43 Iranian ships." as if that was going to change the direction of a quagmire the U.S. getting deeper into with no end game obejctive articulated.

 

Iran Isn’t Winning This War

 

Wall Street Journal's editorial board doesn't recognize Trump isn't winning this war either

The potential human, economic and geopolitical costs of this demolition derby are harrowing and perilous, but none of it should be surprising. “NO PLAN” could be fashioned into a billboard fixed atop the 90,000-square-foot ballroom Trump wants to attach to the White House. And his hasty, tumultuous and open-ended prosecution of the Iran war thus far is entirely in character. The president — as heir to a sizable fortune, haphazard developer, dysfunctional casino impresario, reality TV curiosity, ubiquitous self-promoter and tectonic political force — has spent most of his nearly 80 years flying without maps.

 

Trump Has Never Been a Planner, and in War That’s Deadly

March 12, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT

By Timothy L O'Brien

Timothy L. O'Brien is senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion. A former editor and reporter for the New York Times, he is author of “TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.”

Iran is demonstrating every day that the killing of the country’s supreme leader at the beginning of the war has not totally crippled its ability to fight, the officials and military experts said. Iran, they said, is not acting like a decapitated regime.

Iranian Military Shows It Knows How to Adapt, U.S. Officials Say

Iran appears to be targeting what it views as American vulnerabilities, including air defenses meant to guard troops and assets in the region.

By Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt

Reporting from Washington

March 10, 2026

It was said of Winston Churchill that he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle. Donald Trump’s trick with the mother tongue is to douse it in gasoline, set it on fire and drop it in a dumpster in the middle of his own parade ground.

 

In a War of Words, Trump Always Defeats Himself

The public started out opposing the conflict in Iran. That will be a problem if things go south.

By  

Gerard Baker

March 9, 2026 12:01 pm ET

In October, Smith testified before the US Senate Special Committee on Aging as part of a panel on price transparency and drug costs. In a plaid blazer and tortoiseshell glasses, he used his six minutes to walk senators through SCO’s creation story and share a few tales from the hospital pricing crypt, including one about a family that declined a $72,000 tonsillectomy at a hospital outside Dallas in favor of the $3,875 version being prepped during Businessweek’s visit to Oklahoma City.

 

How a Die-Hard Libertarian Is Negotiating Lower Health-Care Costs

An anesthesiologist has spent decades pushing his surgery center toward more transparent prices. Others are now following his lead.

By Rowan Moore Gerety

March 10, 2026 at 6:00 AM EDT

My guess is that this regime will break only from the top, which will be a process that will start only after there is a cease-fire. The best that the Trump-Netanyahu bombs-away strategy can do is start that process; just tilting Iran onto a better track where it is less of a threat to its own people and neighbors would be a significant achievement. The worst the strategy can do is so devastate Iran with endless aerial bombardments that it becomes ungovernable for anyone. That would be a disaster of incalculable proportions.

Trump Has No Idea How to End the War With Iran

By Thomas L. Friedman

Opinion Columnist

The U.S.-Israeli war in Iran risks redirecting world attention away from the war in Ukraine. But it has also given Kyiv an opportunity to use its hard-won expertise and advanced technology on a new front. The country has eagerly offered to help U.S. forces and their Middle Eastern allies defend against the sorts of Iranian-designed attack drones that Russia has been using in Ukraine for years.

Ukraine Helps U.S. Bases in the Mideast With Stopping Drones

As the war in Iran spreads, Kyiv is eagerly offering its hard-won expertise and advanced technology to counter Iranian drones.

By Kim Barker

Reporting from eastern Ukraine

If war is God’s way of teaching Americans geography, perhaps it will also serve as a lesson to Trump. It should be a simple one: Other places and other people are real, possessing their own agendas and agency — and America’s actions have consequences it cannot control. Anything else is pure fantasy.

 

Trump’s Fantasy Is Crashing Down

By Lydia Polgreen

Opinion Columnist

The damage inflicted by drones has been relatively minimal so far, Mr. Hoffmann noted. But Iran has proved it can produce drones quickly and cheaply, meaning it may have a healthy supply to target the Gulf for the foreseeable future. If the drones keep coming in large numbers, Mr. Hoffmann said, defense systems will be strained.

 

Daily Iranian Drone Barrage Raises Pressure on Gulf States

Missile launches from Iran have slowed, but relentless drone volleys could deplete air defenses in the region.

By Lara Jakes

Lara Jakes frequently writes about war and weapons.

Published March 6, 2026Updated March 7, 2026, 1:39 a.m. ET

“Do the Gulf states want to join a war that they did not start, whose goals are entirely unclear, and whose tempo and cadence they do not necessarily control?” Mr. Alhasan asked. “This is a key strategic consideration that’s weighing on the Gulf states right now.”

In states like Ohio and Georgia, critics have also raised concerns that utilities might make expensive new grid investments to prepare for future data centers that never materialize — either because the technology changes or the A.I. bubble bursts. “We’re spending billions and billions of dollars to modernize and expand the grid, and the question is, who’s paying for that?” said Abe Silverman, an energy researcher at Johns Hopkins University. “Are the big tech firms paying? Or is Grandma going to be left holding the bag?”

Why Tech Firms Are Working With Trump on Data Centers and Energy Costs

The White House has floated a new plan to try to ease voter concerns over the A.I. boom’s effect on electric bills. But it won’t be easy to put into practice.

By Brad Plumer

Reporting from Washington

 

Trump belief that "Unconditional Surrender" is possible shows what a moron he is. He ought to just declare victory and unilaterally disengage and see who leads in Iran

 

Trump Wants ‘Unconditional Surrender,’ Won’t Seek Iran Deal

By Iain Marlow and Patrick Sykes

March 6, 2026 at 9:02 AM EST

Updated on 

March 6, 2026 at 10:31 AM EST