US Lost $1.3B in Drones as Iran War Drags On — SkimNews
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- Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of global oil and a larger share of natural gas passed — in response to Trump's military actions, harming the global economy.
- Donald Trump recently declared the Strait of Hormuz "potential territory of the United States," prompting Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi to respond that it "cannot be seized with a tweet, nor with an aircraft carrier."
- The US has lost about one-quarter of its Reaper Drones — valued at $30-50 million each, totaling more than $1.3 billion — around the Strait of Hormuz, many taken down by Iranian drones costing $20,000-50,000 each.
- The Trump administration has dropped its prior insistence on complete Iranian surrender and is now seeking a reopening of Hormuz and free oil flow — essentially a return to the pre-war status quo, as articulated by Vice President JD Vance.
- An Iranian Revolutionary Guard senior adviser said Iran will prolong the war through the end of Trump's second term in 2028 to establish deterrence, while Trump has threatened ally Oman with bombing if it "gets in the way."
- Tom Engelhardt frames the conflict as part of an 80-year pattern: the US spent $21 trillion on its military from 2001-2024 — equal to the next 18 countries combined — without a clear win since World War II.
Why it matters: The Trump administration has publicly abandoned its original war aim of Iranian surrender and is now seeking what JD Vance described as energy price stability — essentially the pre-war status quo — after losing more than $1.3 billion in Reaper drones around Hormuz. With Iran threatening to drag the conflict through 2028 and only 29% of potential midterm voters approving Trump's handling of it, the source frames the war as having reversed the US position rather than advanced it.
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