Anxiety, disappointment, and confusion, or maybe even relief are coexisting right now among Americans regarding the foreign policy of the Trump Administration caused in particular by our efforts against the Iranian government and the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. To better understand this whole situation, we have to consider the many factors that surround it.
We can start by looking back to July 14, 2015. On this date, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was finalized: a program to limit Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. Beyond limiting nuclear material production, Iran agreed to the more stringent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring of its production, which the United States is a founding member and supporter of (U.S. Department of State, n.d.). After the Iran-Israel War in June of 2025, Iran announced the termination of the agreement (Wikipedia contributors, n.d.). Since then, Iran has not been compliant with the terms of IAEA and has not allowed searches or monitoring their nuclear facilities. In order to create nuclear weapons, you need an enriched uranium, specifically, uranium that contains 90% of the isotope U-235. As of June 2025, Iran had 60% enriched uranium (Vergano, 2026).Â
The United States deemed the level of uranium dangerously close to nuclear weapon territory, and decided action needed to be taken in response. After this decision, on June 22, 2025, the United States Military performed an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities called “Operation Midnight Hammer”. Four days following the attack, an article on the U.S. Department of War’s website stated, “… U.S. B-2 Spirit bombers out of Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, dropped 14 of those GBU-57 bombs onto Fordow and a second nuclear facility, destroying the facilities and setting back Iranian nuclear efforts by years” (Lopez, 2025).Â
The operations continued as on February 28, 2026, the United States Military, in a collaborative effort with the Israeli military, conducted another attack labeled “Operation Epic Fury” which killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an effort to dismantle the current Iranian regime. By initiating a regime change, the United States hopes to reduce the anxieties evoked by the possibility of Iran becoming an increasingly serious threat to national security, especially as they were building their capacity to have nuclear weapons.
What does this mean for American citizens? One of the biggest consequences regarding this war is a dramatic increase in oil prices as the conflict has disrupted the world’s main oil shipping route (with 20% of the world’s oil passing through out) – the Strait of Hormuz (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2025).Â
This results in supply disruption, forcing oil prices up to more than $100 per barrel, and gas prices skyrocketing 40% in just the few weeks since this conflict began (Rugaber & D’Innocenzio, 2026).
The cost of oil aside, this conflict has already resulted in the loss of 13 US service members and countless Iranian civilians including young students and teachers who were killed in an accidental US bombing (NBC News, 2026).
The end game is not clear in this situation so we will all be waiting, watching, and praying for a swift end without any additional loss of life.Â
Sources:
U.S. Department of State. (n.d.). International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). https://www.state.gov/iaea
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Comprehensive_Plan_of_Action
Vergano, D. (2026, March 11). Iran was nowhere close to a nuclear bomb, experts say. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/iran-was-nowhere-close-to-a-nuclear-bomb-experts-say/
Lopez, C. T. (2025, June 26). “Historically successful” strike on Iranian nuclear site was 15 years in the making. U.S. Department of Defense News. https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4227082/historically-successful-strike-on-iranian-nuclear-site-was-15-years-in-the-maki/
U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2025, June 15). Amid regional conflict, the Strait of Hormuz remains critical oil chokepoint. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65504
Rugaber, C., & D’Innocenzio, A. (2026, March 11). Key inflation gauge worsened in January, before Iran war lifted gas prices. PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/key-inflation-gauge-worsened-in-january-before-iran-war-lifted-gas-prices
NBC News. (2026, March). Live updates: Iran war, Trump threat, oil, refueling plane crash, Israel and Gulf tensions. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/live-blog/live-updates-iran-war-trump-threat-oil-refueling-plane-israel-gulf-rcna263302