Day 34 of the Iran war brought a collision of diplomatic brinkmanship, military escalation, and economic turmoil as the United Nations Security Council prepared a critical vote on reopening the Strait of Hormuz — while President Donald Trump posted a video of a devastating bridge strike in Iran and warned that far worse is coming.
Trump Posts Strike Video, Warns Iran to ‘Make a Deal’
In a move that stunned diplomatic observers, President Trump shared a video on Truth Social showing a U.S. airstrike that sliced an under-construction bridge in Karaj, Iran, cleanly in half. The strike, which Iranian officials say killed eight people and injured 95, was accompanied by Trump’s taunt that the bridge “comes tumbling down” and a warning that “more will follow.”
The Karaj bridge video came just hours after Trump’s first primetime national address since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28. Speaking from the Cross Hall at the White House on Wednesday evening, the president declared that the war’s “core strategic objectives are nearing completion” — then immediately contradicted the wind-down narrative by vowing to hit Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks” and bring the country “back to the Stone Ages.”
Operation Epic Fury: ‘Nearing Completion’ — But No End Date
Trump’s 20-minute address laid out what the White House called a comprehensive update on Operation Epic Fury’s progress after more than a month of sustained aerial bombardment. According to the president, Iran’s “navy is gone, their air force is in ruins,” and the country’s senior military leadership has been eliminated.
The president claimed the operation is “meeting or exceeding all of its benchmarks,” a line echoed by the White House in briefings to reporters. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly told the president that families of the 13 American service members killed in the conflict have urged him to “finish the job.”
But critics immediately seized on the speech’s glaring contradiction: if objectives are nearly complete, why escalate? French President Emmanuel Macron publicly criticized what he called “shifting U.S. goals,” while analysts noted the absence of any concrete timeline, exit strategy, or definition of what “completion” actually looks like.
“He declared victory and escalation in the same breath,” one former Pentagon official told CNN. “That’s not a strategy. That’s a contradiction.”
UN Security Council Scrambles Over Hormuz Resolution
Perhaps the most consequential development on Day 34 unfolded not in the skies over Iran but in the corridors of the United Nations. The Security Council is now set to vote Friday on a Bahraini-drafted resolution aimed at protecting commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply normally flows.
But the resolution has already been gutted. According to the Associated Press, the final draft obtained Thursday “significantly waters down earlier proposals.” Previous versions would have authorized countries “to use all necessary means” — standard UN language for military force — to reopen the strait. The new language instead calls for “all defensive means,” a deliberate retreat designed to win over skeptical council members.
It won’t be enough. Russia, China, and France — three of the five permanent members with veto power — have made clear they oppose any language authorizing force against Iran to reopen Hormuz. China has been particularly vocal, with diplomats saying Beijing views the resolution as a backdoor authorization for expanded U.S. military operations in the Persian Gulf.
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani told the Security Council that Iran’s blockade represents an “unlawful and unjustified” attempt to control international navigation. The Gulf Cooperation Council has urged the UN to take “measures” to ensure freedom of navigation, but the diplomatic math remains brutal: even one veto from the P5 kills the resolution.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen by a staggering 90% since the war began, according to The Guardian, creating what energy analysts are calling the worst supply disruption since the 1973 oil embargo.
Oil Surges Past $106, Global Markets Shudder
Trump’s speech — which investors had hoped would signal de-escalation — instead sent markets into a tailspin. Brent crude jumped 5% to $106.22 per barrel, while benchmark U.S. crude rose 4.2% to $104.36. The average price of gasoline in the United States has hit $4 per gallon, a level not seen since 2022.
Asian stocks cratered in early Thursday trading. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.4% to 53,004. South Korea’s Kospi plunged 3.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.8%. U.S. stock futures slid 1%, and European futures sank over 1.5%.
Trump blamed Iran for the energy crisis, calling the price spike “entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict.” He predicted the price increases would be “short-term” — a claim that drew immediate skepticism from energy market analysts.
The economic fallout extends far beyond fuel prices. The Philippines became the first country to declare a national energy emergency last week. The European Commission has urged citizens to work from home and fly less, with the EU’s energy chief calling on member states to accelerate renewable energy deployment. Countries including Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Vietnam face severe fuel shortages, while even relatively well-supplied nations like Australia and India are battling panic buying.
NATO on the Brink: Trump Threatens Alliance Exit
In what may prove to be the most consequential geopolitical ripple of the Iran war, President Trump has openly threatened to pull the United States out of NATO — the Western military alliance that has been the cornerstone of transatlantic security since 1949.
Trump blasted European allies for refusing to join Operation Epic Fury or support U.S. efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. In a Truth Social post and subsequent interview, he said he was “strongly considering” a U.S. withdrawal from the alliance, calling NATO countries ungrateful and their military contributions inadequate.
The threat prompted NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to announce an emergency visit to Washington next week to hold talks with U.S. officials. Austrian officials, meanwhile, confirmed they have been denying American combat aircraft permission to fly over their country since the start of the war — a quiet act of European resistance that underscores the depth of the transatlantic rift.
The Casualty Count Continues to Climb
As the diplomatic maneuvering continues, the human cost mounts. The American death toll now stands at 13 service members, with hundreds more wounded. In Gulf states targeted by Iranian retaliatory strikes, at least 50 people have been killed. In Israel, at least 17 civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks, including a recent barrage near Tel Aviv that wounded 14 people — among them an 11-year-old girl.
Iran has also targeted commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure across the region. A drone attack sparked a large fire at Kuwait International Airport, and Saudi Arabia has intercepted and destroyed multiple incoming drones. The UAE has banned all Iranian nationals from entering or transiting through the country.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian penned an open letter to the American people, urging them to “question your government’s motives.” Meanwhile, reports from the Institute for the Study of War suggest an “unprecedented crisis” is emerging within the inner circle of Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, with some associates reportedly seeking to remove former leaders’ deputies from power.
What Comes Next
The next 48 hours are pivotal. Friday’s UN Security Council vote on the Hormuz resolution will test whether the international community can mount any collective response to the strait closure — or whether vetoes from China and Russia will leave Gulf states to fend for themselves.
Trump’s promise of “extremely hard” strikes over the coming two to three weeks suggests the aerial campaign is about to intensify, even as the president insists the end is near. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly views Trump’s timeline as aligned with Israel’s own assessment, suggesting close coordination on campaign objectives.
But the questions keep piling up: What does “completion” look like? Who reopens Hormuz? What happens to NATO? And with oil above $100, gas at $4, and allied nations refusing to participate — how long can the American public sustain support for a war with no clear end date?
Day 34 of Operation Epic Fury has made one thing clear: the war in Iran is reshaping not just the Middle East, but the entire architecture of Western alliances, global energy markets, and American foreign policy. The aftershocks will be felt for years to come.