Trump's Iran War: US Loses Quarter of Reaper Drones — SkimNews
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- Donald Trump declared the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil passes, to be potential "territory of the United States," and Iran responded by closing the strait, harming the global economy.
- Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the Strait "cannot be seized with a tweet, nor with an aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor through an election speech," adding Iran will keep enforcing the blockade until the US accepts defeat.
- The US military 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 shot down by Iranian drones worth $20,000–$50,000 apiece.
- The Trump administration has abandoned its earlier demand for complete Iranian surrender and now wants only the Strait reopened and free oil and gas flow — essentially a return to the pre-war status quo, per Vice President JD Vance.
- Iran is threatening to keep the war going through the end of Trump's second term in 2028, with a senior adviser to the Revolutionary Guard's commander saying the goal is to prolong conflict and establish deterrence.
- Trump threatened to "bomb the shit out of" long-time US ally Oman if it "gets in the way" of his Iran plans, and only 29% of likely midterm voters approve of his handling of the Iran situation, according to a recent poll.
- The US spent an estimated $21 trillion on its military between 2001 and 2024 — equal to the combined military spending of the next 18 countries — while failing to win a significant war since World War II, the author contends.
Why it matters: The dollar asymmetry is stark: the US has burned through more than $1.3 billion in Reaper drones around Hormuz while Iran has shot them out with drones costing roughly 0.1% as much. If Iran holds to its stated plan to keep fighting through 2028, the Trump administration enters the midterms with a war it can neither win nor exit on its original terms.
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