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Whatever the real goal of the ramped-up U.S. offensive on Iran, with 11 straight days of airstrikes on Iranian infrastructure, ports, and military installations after a brief cease-fire, it does nothing to address the ticking clock that threatens to scuttle the Trump administration’s entire approach: rapidly rising oil prices and rapidly falling global oil stockpiles.

The Pentagon says that the renewed U.S. air offensive, if not necessarily prelude to a ground invasion, is “designed to continue degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.” Iranian military capacity was already destroyed four months ago, according to the Pentagon, but Iran has shown a surprising ability to continue firing missiles and drones at ships passing through Hormuz, at the critical infrastructure of U.S.-allied countries in the region, and at U.S. military bases in the region. 

Whatever the real goal of the ramped-up U.S. offensive on Iran, with 11 straight days of airstrikes on Iranian infrastructure, ports, and military installations after a brief cease-fire, it does nothing to address the ticking clock that threatens to scuttle the Trump administration’s entire approach: rapidly rising oil prices and rapidly falling global oil stockpiles.

The Pentagon says that the renewed U.S. air offensive, if not necessarily prelude to a ground invasion, is “designed to continue........

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