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U.S. President Donald Trump is never at a loss for words when it comes to the war with Iran. He is having a harder time conveying clear objectives in his war of choice. As U.S. officials weigh their unappealing options for getting to an acceptable endgame, the Trump administration’s war aims remain as confused today as they were when the U.S.-Israeli military campaign began on Feb. 28.

In February, the Trump administration could not decide if its aim was toppling the regime or degrading Iran’s military means to threaten its neighbors. The irony is that if Trump had only attacked Tehran’s military might and not its leadership, the Iranians would almost certainly not have shut down the Strait of Hormuz. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the late Iranian supreme leader, had avoided doing so since 1988, believing that closing the strait would provoke a war with the United States that could threaten the survival of the Islamic Republic. But once Trump and the Israelis sought to decapitate the regime by killing Khamenei, Iran’s leaders concluded that they had nothing to lose. Now, however much the Trump administration may talk about ensuring that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons, the U.S. preoccupation is getting the Strait of Hormuz reopened and operating as it was prior to the war.

U.S. President Donald Trump is never at a loss for words when it comes to the war with Iran. He is having a harder time conveying clear objectives in his war of choice. As U.S. officials weigh their unappealing options for getting to an acceptable endgame, the Trump administration’s war aims remain as confused today as they were when the U.S.-Israeli military campaign began on Feb. 28.

In February, the Trump administration could not decide if its aim was toppling the regime or degrading Iran’s military means to threaten its neighbors. The irony is that if Trump had only attacked Tehran’s military might and not its leadership, the Iranians would almost certainly not have shut down the Strait of Hormuz. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the late Iranian supreme leader, had avoided doing so since 1988, believing that closing the strait would provoke a war with the United States that could threaten the survival of the Islamic Republic. But once Trump and the Israelis sought to decapitate the regime by killing Khamenei, Iran’s leaders concluded that they had nothing to lose. Now, however much the........

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