In the wake of this weekend’s failed negotiations in Islamabad, the Iran conflict is back on. So, too, are the Trump administration’s efforts to bring the Islamic Republic to heel.

After the failed negotiations this weekend in Islamabad and the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas, the conflict appears poised to resume. Yet Washington heads into the next phase with a clearer understanding of the stakes because the past six-plus weeks have offered a stark lesson about the insecurity of global energy and the vulnerability of maritime choke points.

The Iran War has temporarily disrupted Caucasus-Central Asia connectivity. The United States must reassure the region that it still wishes to engage with its development.

Ukraine is demonstrating, both in word and in deed, that it can help shape the shared fight against today’s revisionist axis. Here’s hoping that the Trump administration takes notice. 

In the early morning hours of January 3, 2026, the Trump Administration launched "Absolute Resolve," a military operation to apprehend Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and remove him from office. The effort marked the most consequential U.S. intervention in Latin America in decades, involving large-scale coordinated intelligence, air and special operations assets.

Iran is pounding U.S. military positions across the Middle East with missiles and cheap but highly effective drones, killing U.S. troops and wreaking havoc across the Persian Gulf. The cost to the U.S. of its defensive systems far exceeds the cost of Iran’s drones, and America and its regional partners are burning through their air defenses.

With the Iran war in its third week, questions are swirling over the administration's aims, its conduct of the conflict and the trajectory that Iran itself might take.