President Donald Trump's call for reinforcements to open the Strait of Hormuz just created the "worst of all possible worlds," according to one analyst.
On Monday, Trump made several contradictory statements about whether the U.S. needs other countries to help it open the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts of 20% of all global energy trade. The Iranian regime has effectively closed the Strait to the U.S. and Israeli ships in retaliation for the two countries' conducting a coordinated bombing campaign in Iran that began in late February.
Van Jones, a former Obama administration advisor, argued on CNN's "NewsNight" with Abby Phillip that the Trump administration's inability to deal with this problem in advance has created the "worst of all possible worlds."
"My only point is it's this kind of ready-fire-aim stuff," Jones said about the administration's strategy in Iran. "There could have been a situation where you had the economic pressure, then the protests, then the military strikes, and you might actually have regime change. Now, we have the worst of all possible worlds, and it's not clear how to get out of it."
Analysts have noted that Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is its "strongest card" against Trump, meaning the country is unlikely to bend easily on the issue. That puts Trump in an awkward position in a war that he has struggled to justify at home.
A recent Washington Post poll found that 65% of Americans don't believe Trump has adequately explained the goals of the U.S. in deciding to bomb Iran.