President Trump has ordered fresh strikes on Iran that could begin as soon as this weekend, dragging Americans deeper into a Middle East war that's already burning through U.S. munitions stockpiles and driving up gas prices — while the defense contractors who supply the missiles count the receipts.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the order, citing unnamed U.S. officials who said the campaign would last several days. CBS News reported the targets could include Iranian energy infrastructure — power plants, oil refineries, possibly cutting electricity across Tehran. Advocacy groups have already flagged deliberate strikes on civilian infrastructure as potential war crimes.
Trump previewed the offensive from Camp David Friday. "We'll be hitting them very hard," he told reporters during a Cabinet meeting. "And at some point they'll say we just can't take it anymore." Asked about reviving diplomacy, Trump was blunt: "I think we just want to win."
The president said he'd "losing faith" in negotiations, calling the Iranian regime "very dishonest" and "very dishonorable." He cited a surprise missile attack on U.S. forces in Jordan on Wednesday — launched while negotiations were supposedly underway. "I'm waiting for Steve [Witkoff] to call me — 'How's the negotiation going?'" Trump said. "And instead, I got a call from Pete [Hegseth] that they just shot five missiles at one of our bases in Jordan."
Here's what the headlines soft-pedal: this war is consuming American resources at a rate that should set off alarms for every taxpayer. The conflict, which began February 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, has depleted U.S. stocks of air-defense interceptors — the very missiles needed to protect American forces and allies worldwide. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine has reportedly warned the White House that an expanded campaign would further strain those dwindling stocks, according to the Journal. Every interceptor fired at an Iranian missile is one fewer available for actual American defense — and one more contract for Raytheon and Lockheed to fill.
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper has drafted a more ambitious option: a two-week sustained bombing campaign designed to eliminate Iran's missile arsenal for good. The New York Post confirmed that plan is on the table, though the president hasn't given the final order on scope. The shorter energy-infrastructure strikes reported by CBS may bridge the gap between Cooper's escalation and Caine's caution.
Israel, which paused military operations at Trump's request to allow room for peace, may reenter the fight. An Israeli official told CBS that Israel is "unaware of a decision to restart full military operations, nor has been requested of Israel to join any military actions against Iran." The Washington Examiner noted Israeli involvement would likely trigger Iranian missile attacks on the Jewish state — meaning more interceptors fired, more munitions expended, more contracts fulfilled.
Americans are already paying. WTI crude surged above $86 a barrel Friday after the CBS report. Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — a vital chokepoint for global oil and gas — has compounded the damage with each escalation. Egypt got dragged in this week when two LNG ships were struck by drones at Damietta. The memorandum of understanding that paused fighting collapsed in early July, and each round of retaliation costs taxpayers millions.
Voters are noticing. Polls show Americans by a wide margin disapprove of Trump's handling of both the war and the economy. Midterms are in November.
The question the bipartisan establishment won't answer: who profits from a war that drains American munitions, spikes gas prices, and has no defined endgame? Follow the contracts. Because "they'll say we just can't take it anymore" isn't an exit strategy — it's what they said about Iraq, too.
