Find an exit ramp from Iran

President Donald Trump's suspiciously upbeat assessment on Monday that the U.S. war against Iran could be over soon and that our military operations are taking less time than expected created a brief spate of relief. But events that followed Trump's tepid assurance show how entangled this is getting.

Death and destruction mount. Iran's attacks on petroleum infrastructure and its determination to choke off shipping traffic inspire fear about supplies and prices. The Tehran regime, still in the hands of the theocratic Revolutionary Guard, has kept tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz where 20% of the world's oil supplies pass. Trump is warning Iran not to accelerate the crisis by mining the crucial passage.

So far the merciless American and Israeli attacks on Iran have been by drone and missile. But after an intelligence briefing from the administration Tuesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said he fears "we may be putting boots on the ground ... to accomplish objectives the administration seems to have."

And we still ask: What are those goals? Risky capture of uranium? Regime change? What would Iran's total surrender even mean?

There is no sign Iran will be governed by anyone but elite of clerics and Revolutionary Guard members who made the Islamic republic a menace to regional peace for nearly 40 years. The assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's hard-line son Mojtaba Khamenei succeeds him as supreme leader. Massive crowds in Tehran came out to mourn the slain leader, even if many reportedly celebrated. Trump, who initially called on Iranians to take over their government, still offers no clue as to the who or the how or what he meant. 

Bombardment goes on. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted about the attacks being the most intense of the war. Also Tuesday a new video appeared to confirm despite Trump's denials that a U.S. Tomahawk missile hit a military base near a school in Iran. It killed at least 168 children and 14 teachers.

Terroristic blowback is clearly underway outside Iran. An active shooter incident near a Baltimore synagogue left a police officer and a suspect wounded Tuesday. On Saturday, the failed use of homemade bombs outside Gracie Mansion led to the arrest of two Pennsylvania men on federal charges. In Toronto, three synagogues, the U.S. Consulate and several homes were hit with gunfire. An explosion Sunday damaged the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway.

Iran has struck Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Iraq, including civilian targets. And there are hints that U.S. and Israeli interests may begin to diverge the longer war continues.

On multiple fronts, Operation Epic Fury threatens to be an epic failure. The Pentagon said as of Monday, 140 U.S. service members have been wounded in the conflict and seven killed. Trump needs to quickly find the off ramp he is seeking before the extremely volatile situation spins completely out of control.