Bogged down: On the U.S.-Iran conflict escalation

Iran’s attacks on American warships outside the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. retaliatory strikes on three Iranian oil tankers in the Gulf waters mark another phase of escalation in the six-month-long war between the two countries. After the collapse of the June 17 Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which sought to resolve the conflict through talks, both sides have carried out tit-for-tat attacks. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to shift the focus of his Iran policy from military strikes to economic warfare, announcing new sanctions and tightening the U.S. Navy’s blockade of Iran’s ports. The U.S. also managed to get some oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz through a southern route along the Omani coast. But Iran, which still maintains its chokehold over the waterway, continued to target vessels taking the southern route. Unable to find a way out, the U.S.