Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said that Donald Trump’s administration has “lost control” of the war with Iran and gravely underestimated Tehran’s capacity for retaliation.
“It is now absolutely clear that Trump has lost control of this war. He badly miscalculated Iran’s ability to respond. The region is on fire,” Murphy wrote after closed briefings for senators.
One of the key drivers of the escalation, he said, was Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “Trump was certain that Iran would not close the strait. He was wrong. If the strait remains closed, it will trigger a global recession,” the senator noted.
Murphy stressed that the United States has no clear plan to restore secure shipping in the region. He noted that Iran possesses “thousands of small drones, high-speed boats and naval mines”, which would be extremely difficult to eliminate entirely.
The senator also warned that the conflict is increasingly taking on the character of a “drone war”, in which Tehran could continue striking the region’s oil infrastructure for a prolonged period. “The Gulf states are already beginning to run short of interceptors for missiles and drones,” he wrote.
According to Murphy, the situation could escalate into a broader regional conflict. He pointed to attacks by Iran-aligned groups against Israel and US facilities in Iraq, as well as the risk of further escalation in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
“Trump has no plan to end the war. A ground invasion would mean Armageddon—thousands of Americans killed,” the senator said.
In conclusion, Murphy urged the administration to halt the military operation. “Trump has lost control of the war. The best thing he can do now is limit the losses and bring it to an end,” he wrote.