Nearly five months into the conflict between the United States and Iran, the Trump administration continues to pursue a strategy centered on applying overwhelming military pressure to compel Tehran to negotiate. President Donald Trump has asserted that intensified strikes targeting Iran’s infrastructure—such as power plants and bridges—will force the country’s leaders to the negotiating table.
The campaign, which began with an intense 38-day military offensive starting on February 28, incorporated coordinated Israeli and U.S. strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior military commanders. According to the Pentagon, the initial phase included attacks on approximately 13,000 targets, severely damaging Iran’s navy and air forces, reducing missile and drone capabilities, and eliminating around 40 high-level military and intelligence figures.
Despite these blows, Iran has retained its capacity to threaten neighboring countries through missile and drone attacks and to disrupt traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. A cease-fire initiated on April 8 aimed to end hostilities, reopen the waterway, and prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. However, this truce collapsed earlier this month, leading to renewed fighting.
U.S. officials have reported that Iran has reconstituted much of its military capability since the cease-fire. Restoration efforts include replenishing ballistic missiles, drone launch sites, and underground facilities. Recent U.S. airstrikes have primarily targeted military assets, such as command centers, missile sites, and coastal surveillance installations that pose risks to commercial vessels navigating the strait. Some infrastructure serving both civilian and military functions, including a railway bridge over 700 miles from the Strait of Hormuz, has also been struck; this bridge was reportedly used to transport military supplies.
Despite ongoing military pressure, Iranian forces continue attacks on commercial shipping, sustaining tensions in the region. President Trump has suggested that military targets near the strait are becoming scarce and has indicated a willingness to expand the air campaign to include civilian infrastructure critical to Iran’s war efforts.
This escalation has raised concerns within the Pentagon regarding the legality and potential consequences of targeting civilian sites. Officials are debating whether such tactics would coerce Iranian leaders to capitulate or instead strengthen their resolve amid mounting casualties and destruction.
Some military analysts argue that the current difficulties stem partly from the initial air campaign’s success in eliminating Iran’s leadership, which paradoxically may have hindered efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict. Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote noted that “decapitation campaigns work, but not always in the way you want,” reflecting broader lessons from past U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where heavy firepower alone failed to secure swift political settlements.
The evolving confrontation continues to test the limits of U.S. military power and the strategic calculus of using force to induce regime change or policy shifts in Iran.