A number of current and former officials from the US, Iran, and Europe said that the US-Iran conflict is likely to continue, possibly for several months. The two sides are unable to break the impasse surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, and it is also difficult to reach a lasting cease-fire agreement. According to people familiar with the matter who have maintained contact with senior US and Iran, the pattern that has been repeated over the past few weeks is likely to continue, that is, the situation eased after a brief exchange of fire, and then fighting broke out again. An Iranian official said that although Iran's military strength has been severely damaged since the US and Israel started a war in February, Tehran is confident that it will last longer under the US naval blockade. People familiar with the matter said that Iran's leaders believe Trump will not take the major escalation actions he has repeatedly threatened because Tehran has the ability to cause serious damage to the Gulf Arab countries, and Trump is unwilling to further push up oil and fuel prices. One of the sources said that oil prices surpassed $100 last week as one of the reasons Trump suspended daily air raids and tried diplomatic mediation again. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said, “For anonymous sources who pretend to know the president's thoughts, their remarks should be treated as pure speculation and not accepted. Only the US Commander of the Third Army himself knows what to do next.” People familiar with the matter said Iran knows very well that since the war began, the decline in global oil stocks and the consumption of US ammunition are limiting Trump's ability to further escalate military action. As the White House uses US strategic oil reserves to control fuel prices, the current reserve scale has dropped to its lowest level since the 1980s. Advanced American weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles, have also been consumed in large quantities. However, these sources added that Trump is unlikely to back down until Iran makes concessions on the Strait of Hormuz issue. Iran still demands the right to manage traffic on this critical waterway and charges energy carriers and other vessels.

A number of current and former officials from the US, Iran, and Europe said that the US-Iran conflict is likely to continue, possibly for several months. The two sides are unable to break the impasse surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, and it is also difficult to reach a lasting cease-fire agreement. According to people familiar with the matter who have maintained contact with senior US and Iran, the pattern that has been repeated over the past few weeks is likely to continue, that is, the situation eased after a brief exchange of fire, and then fighting broke out again. An Iranian official said that although Iran's military strength has been severely damaged since the US and Israel started a war in February, Tehran is confident that it will last longer under the US naval blockade. People familiar with the matter said that Iran's leaders believe Trump will not take the major escalation actions he has repeatedly threatened because Tehran has the ability to cause serious damage to the Gulf Arab countries, and Trump is unwilling to further push up oil and fuel prices. One of the sources said that oil prices surpassed $100 last week as one of the reasons Trump suspended daily air raids and tried diplomatic mediation again. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said, “For anonymous sources who pretend to know the president's thoughts, their remarks should be treated as pure speculation and not accepted. Only the US Commander of the Third Army himself knows what to do next.” People familiar with the matter said Iran knows very well that since the war began, the decline in global oil stocks and the consumption of US ammunition are limiting Trump's ability to further escalate military action. As the White House uses US strategic oil reserves to control fuel prices, the current reserve scale has dropped to its lowest level since the 1980s. Advanced American weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles, have also been consumed in large quantities. However, these sources added that Trump is unlikely to back down until Iran makes concessions on the Strait of Hormuz issue. Iran still demands the right to manage traffic on this critical waterway and charges energy carriers and other vessels.