How Trump could stop losing in Iran

The Trump-Xi summit concluded with vague promises for China to help. But as of now, the U.S. is losing the war with Iran. Thirty-seven days of intense airstrikes have only made the Iranian regime more hardline and the Strait of Hormuz — open and stable before the campaign began — is now under its control.

The question facing the U.S. today is no longer how to win this war, but how to stop the bleeding and regain some ground — just possibly enlisting China and others in fashioning a few wins.

There are three concrete priorities.

The first is to build a truly international coalition to reopen the Strait. Until the world’s most important energy chokepoint is reliably open, the global economy will continue to absorb the war’s worst shocks, and Iran will continue to dictate the terms of any negotiation. Europe and Asia depend on Gulf energy far more than America, now a major net exporter. Gulf gas is the principal alternative to renewed European dependence on Russia. Our European partners have minesweeping, escort and surveillance capability which they should have every reason to deploy alongside ours.

China, as Iran’s largest oil customer and most consequential outside backer, has its own interest in keeping the Strait open. This war should not end the way it began, with the U.S. acting on its own.

The second is to revive arms control. Stability in the region depends on preventing the nuclear arms race which this war has made considerably more likely, and that requires a sustained diplomatic effort. The president is right that Iran cannot be allowed to........

© The Hill