ISLAMABAD: Former US Defence Secretary and ex-CIA Director Leon Panetta has declared that President Donald Trump is now caught in a classic “rock and a hard place” after three weeks of war with Iran, with the Islamic Republic tightening its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and leaving Washington with few viable options.
Panetta, speaking in a detailed interview with a leading British newspaper, lambasted the Trump administration’s lack of foresight, calling it a “failure of planning” that has driven global oil prices to record highs and shattered any hope of a quick victory.
The conflict erupted on 28 February when US-Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Instead of sparking popular revolt, the assassination installed his son Mojtaba Khamenei — a younger, far more hardline figure — who has vowed to keep the strategic waterway closed.
More than 1,400 Iranians have died, according to Tehran’s health officials, while 13 American service members have been killed in the fighting. A Tomahawk missile strike on the first day destroyed a girls’ school in southern Iran, claiming at least 175 lives, mostly children, yet the administration has issued no apology.
The Strait of Hormuz normally carries 20 million barrels of oil per day — roughly 20 per cent of global seaborne trade. Since Iran effectively sealed the passage nearly two weeks ago, tanker traffic has dropped to a trickle, prompting the International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels from emergency reserves.
Analysts warn Brent crude could surge past $126 per barrel if the blockade persists, threatening a 2.9 per cent drop in global GDP growth this quarter alone. Asian economies, which receive 80 per cent of the strait’s flows, face the harshest blow.
Panetta expressed astonishment that national security meetings had repeatedly flagged the Hormuz risk yet the current administration made no preparations for naval escorts or alternative routes.
He described Trump’s reliance on bold statements rather than concrete strategy as “naive”, noting the president appears to believe repeated declarations will magically become reality.
Current Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth came under sharp fire from Panetta, who portrayed him as little more than a presidential loyalist rather than a professional military planner capable of managing the escalating crisis.
Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding Iran reopen the strait or face destruction of its power plants, starting with the largest facilities. Iranian officials responded by declaring the waterway open only to non-enemy vessels, effectively maintaining the blockade.
Panetta warned that the only remaining path is to neutralise Iranian coastal defences and escort tankers through the passage — an operation certain to expand the war and cost more lives.
He criticised the administration’s use of combat footage and repatriation ceremonies of fallen soldiers for domestic fundraising and publicity, calling the practice “unseemly” and damaging to America’s international image.
The former Pentagon chief noted that Trump’s refusal to coordinate closely with NATO allies beforehand has left Washington isolated at the moment it needs partners most.
With oil prices already climbing nearly 70 per cent this year and shipping firms suspending operations, the economic fallout is rippling across every continent.
Panetta concluded that Trump now faces an unenviable choice: widen the conflict to break the Hormuz stranglehold or accept a stalemate that Iran portrays as victory.
Regional media across Pakistan and the Middle East have echoed these concerns, citing local analysts who warn that prolonged disruption could trigger energy shortages and inflation unseen since the 1970s oil shocks.
As the fourth week of fighting begins, the world watches to see whether Washington will escalate further or find a diplomatic off-ramp that currently appears nowhere in sight.