Escalation of Hostilities Involving Iran: Quagmire Also Harms U.S. Interests

Editorial

15:09 JST, March 5, 2026

The United States and Israel are expanding their offensive, while Iran continues its fierce counterattacks. The flames of war are spreading throughout the Middle East, and Europe is being forced to get involved in the conflict.

This situation — in which the fighting has expanded to involve many countries and is showing signs of becoming protracted — is a matter of deep concern. Both sides should cease their attacks and aim for a solution through negotiations.

A senior official of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps said that Tehran has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, located south of the country, and threatened to set fire to vessels navigating the waterway. The strait is a strategic choke point for transporting crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Middle East to Japan and other nations.

Furthermore, Iran has used drones to attack key facilities responsible for the global energy supply, including a refinery of Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company and an LNG facility in Qatar.

The tactic of attacking neighboring countries under the pretext of retaliation against the United States and others, thereby plunging the global economy into chaos, is extremely despicable and absolutely unacceptable.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump, referring to the attacks on Iran, emphasized his readiness for a long-term conflict, saying that the United States has the “capability to go far longer” than the four to five weeks he had initially indicated.

Trump’s remarks have been inconsistent. While he called on the Iranian people for regime change, he also mentioned that the new leaders the United States had hoped for are mostly dead. It is clear that he launched the attacks without a clear exit strategy, which is utterly irresponsible.

Major European countries have said they will not participate in the military strikes by the United States and others, yet they are increasingly deepening their involvement.

Britain has permitted the use of its bases, including those within its own territory, in response to U.S. requests. Claiming that a Royal Air Force base in the island nation of Cyprus in the Mediterranean had been hit by a drone attack suspected to be from Iran, Britain deployed fighter jets for defensive missions.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron announced that the country will dispatch a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean. There is a risk that British and French military aircraft and vessels could become targets of retaliation, leading to accidental clashes.

The United States is providing massive amounts of ammunition and weaponry to Ukraine, which is facing Russian aggression, and to Israel, which has invaded the Palestinian territory of Gaza. If the attacks on Iran are prolonged on top of this, stockpiles could run low, potentially degrading the military strength of the U.S. armed forces.

Furthermore, the U.S. military is concentrating its forces, including carrier strike groups, in the Middle East. If U.S. defenses are spread thin in other regions, it will have a negative impact on the security of the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan.

The United States should not allow the attacks on Iran to drag on, not least so that it can deal with China’s military coercion.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 5, 2026)