March 28 marks the 29th day of the regional war with Iran, Israel, and the United States. It began with a massive U.S.-Israeli strike on Feb. 28, which resulted in the assassination of Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and an expansion of hostilities across the Middle East. The conflict between the U.S. and Iran is referred to as “Operation Epic Fury” by the U.S. and “Operation Roaring Lion” by Israel. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial strikes on Feb. 28. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was named as his successor on March 8, although as of March 28, he has not been seen or pictured, so there are questions if he is still alive.
According to the BBC, over 3,400 Iranians have been killed in the U.S. and Israeli strikes. The Pentagon has confirmed 13 U.S. soldiers killed and about 300 wounded. At least 1,100 people have been killed in Lebanon and up to 28 in Israel since the conflict began. Over 1,00,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon due to the conflict.
Meanwhile, oil prices have see-sawed, surging from $71 per barrel to currentlly $100 per barrel, while U.S. gasoline prices at the pump averaging 50 cents higher than prior to the outbreak of hostilities. According to Al Jazeera, gasoline prices have risen almost 17% in the U.S., but as much as 68% in places like Cambodia. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted about 20-30% of global oil exports and a quarter of the world’s fertilizer transports.
The Council on Foreign Relations notes that President Donald Trump has threatened to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure, but has delayed implement of that threat until April 6 in hopes that Iran will agree to demands to cease their nuclear proliferation plans and other U.S. demands to effectively open the Strait of Hormuz. Overall, the U.S. aims to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, destroy its missile and naval capabilities, and to have them surrender and take defeat without further unnecessary deaths.
Moreover, the Council on Foreign Relations reports that “the Pentagon is considering diverting weapons earmarked for Ukraine to the Middle East.” Meanwhile, as of March 26, NBC News reports that “Iran says it has no plans for negotiations with the U.S.”
